There comes a time when you have to simply say goodbye. The chapter of my life that has been the emotional rollercoaster of the last 6 months has to come to a close. Will it hurt?? Sure as hell! But, I have to do this for my own sanity, something which I have abandoned as of lately.

In order for me to fully get on with my life, I simply have to "let go." Sorry if this causes anyone pain, but as I mentioned above, I have to do it for my own good.

In keeping with my penchant for song lyrics, I leave you with this:

And now that it's all over
The birds can nest again
I'll only snow when the sun comes out
I'll shine only when it starts to rain
For I am a mirrorI can reflect the moon
I will write songs for you
I'll be your silver spoon
I'm sorry I took your time
I am the poem that doesn't rhyme
Just turn back a page
I'll waste away,
I'll waste away

Elton John "Goodbye"

People Come into your life for a reason....

Sometimes people come into your life & you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or help you figure out who you are & or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be (possibly your roommate, neighbor, long lost friend, lover, or even a complete stranger), but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way. And sometimes things will happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, & unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming these obstacles, you would have never realized your true potential, strength, will power, or heart. Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by mean of good luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness & sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe & comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless. The people that you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience help to create who you are and who you will become. Even the bad experiences are learned from. In fact, they are the most poignant ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart. If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you but because in a way they are teaching you to love & open your heart & eyes to things. Make everyday count. Appreciate every moment & take from those moments everything you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before & actually listen... Let yourself fall in love again, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right too. Tell yourself that you are a great individual & believe in yourself. For if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.....

To lay me down once more, to lay me down
With my head in sparkling clover
Let the world go by, all lost in dreaming
To lay me down one last time, to lay me down
To be with you once more, to be with you
With our bodies close together
Let the world go by, like clouds a-streaming
To lay me down one last time, to lay me down
To lay me down, to lay me down
To lay me down one last time, to lay me down
To lie with you once more, to lie with you
With our dreams entwined together
To wake beside you, my love still sleeping
To tell sweet lies one last time and say goodnight
To lay me down, to lay me down
To lay me down one last time, to lay me down

-Jerry Garcia

I have come to realize just how important my friends are and that they really are there for me-- in good times as well as bad. Sometimes a real friend will tell you how it is, even when you dont want to know the truth. Other times a real friend is there just to make you laugh and have a great time, and just enjoy life.

I really like the people who I've decided to surround myself with. They're the best bunch of people in the wold, and they know who they are...

:) Paul

I've had a very rough rollercoater ride in my life the last 2 months....Last night was my therapy..the monthly drum circle. I really love the group of people that get together every month to jam, and connect on levels that are just amazing.

I've been on a quest for heightened spirituality for a while. I recently was hanging on to one person who had opened my eyes and "brought the light back to my life." What I realized last night, aside from the fact that drumming is wickedly therapeutic, is that I had been surrounded by awesome spirits who I connect with for quite a while.

I feel like there has been so much tension and angst lifted from me last night. I told Jen that I was going to drum so hard that my hands hurt, and I did. And the Reiki that I received last night didn't hurt either, I suppose.....

I got this from Lisa's myspace the other day...

I've finally created a myspace page....check it out:

http://www.myspace.com/dreambythestars

For all you Starbucks fans (or not), this is funny. Not kid safe, though....

You can tell alot about a person by....what's on their fridge???

It's March. It's Snowing. While this hasnt been an unusually snowy winter, I just cant wait for spring. And this just in: We've Got Thundersnow Yes, it's snowing and thundering loudly....

here's something really really scary for you...

I've been messing around with music on the computer again. I finally replaced the old soundcard that was giving me problems and now have a somewhat decent sounding system. The list of songs available for instant listening on my computer is staggering!!To view the list as of today, click here

I stumbled upon this notice while browsing the web today:

We apologize the site you are attempting to visit
has been blocked due to its content being inconsistent
with the religious, cultural, political and moral values
of the United Arab Emirates.

I say: "What the fuck is that all about??"

I've been trying to read a bit more lately, Mike and I went to the bookstore last week and I picked up Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story of Frank Zappa . So far, it's been a really good read. I always admired Zappa both as a musician and as a person.

Last night, Tom called and asked if I'd like to go to the bookstore with him, so I picked up another book, this time not a music-related book. Rogue River Journal is the story of John Daniel, who in November of 2000, climbed into his pickup, drove to a cabin in the Red River Gorge, and quit civilization. it sounded like a pretty good boo, so I bought it and am gonna give it a try...

There's a blog that I have been reading quite a bit lately, The Daily Nightly. This blog was created by Brian Williams of the NBC Nightly News, and provides a great view of what the people who tell you the news are talking about...

I just saw a Ford ad today, and they were using music from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" as the music bed. Is there anything that will remain untouched?? That's a classic and again they bastardize it for a freaking car commercial!!!!!!

I went to see Rusted Root at the Webster Theater this weekend. What an awesome show. Everytime that I see them perform, they put on a mind-blowing performance. I think this is the 4th time that I have seen them. My first time seeing them was on one of the Further Festivals (I think in 1998), and I have been a huge fan ever since.

Without having a studio CD released on a major label since 2002, the band still tours. Their live shows have become a celebration, and the manage to pack the house. This is the second time that they have been at the Wesbter this year (the last time was in March.)

They were in great form, the musicianship was top notch. Musically, they covered a good range of material from their career, culling quite a bit off their major-label debut, 1994's "When I Woke." They even pulled out a couple of great covers, Neil Young's "Powderfinger" and working Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" into "Cat Turned Blue"

The vocals of Michael Glabicki were in top form, backed by the tasteful harmonies of Jenn Wertz and Liz Berlin. Glabicki's acoustic guitar playing is unparalleled, and accompanied by the rock solid rhythm section, the band ROCKED. Rusted Root is a band that has never disappointed me when I've seen them.

Allright, I'm starting something new here (besides actually POSTING here!!)...a series...

Double Albums That Should Have Been Single Albums!

I know I'll get a bit of flack over this (and I have), but...


The Beatles- The Beatles (a.ka. The White Album)

Ok, my friend Mike and I have been debating which songs should be cut off this one to make it a single album. (NOTE: Mike dosent agree with me that ANY of the songs should be cut off- he wanted me to let you know that. )If you're talking 1968 standard album length, then there's going to be alot of cutting. If you're talking standard 2005 CD length, it makes it a bit easier...

We both agree- the first one to be cut would be "Back in the USSR"- what an annoying song that is anyway. "Birthday"- buh-bye! Another really annoying song that I skip whenever the White Album is in the CD player (you know, CD's actually are great because of the "skip" button!). "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" gets the axe too (seems like a McCartney filler junk tune to me!).

The first three were the easiest, the other songs, all have great parts, and I could go back and forth on which songs to keep or which ones to cut on several:

Why Don't We do it in the Road? (cool sounding, but really a meaningless song)
I Will
Wild Honey Pie (gets points for weirdness)
Honey Pie (loss of the weirdness point here)
Long, Long, Long (the title says it all!)
Cry Baby Cry
Rocky Raccoon (allright, a killer song, but maybe should have been on one of Paul's solo albums)
Martha My Dear (nice, but a little hokey)
Piggies (great instrumentation, but a little hokey- gets points though for the lyric "What they need is a damn good whacking")

I think that "Revolution #9" should have been cut, or perhaps placed on the "B-Side" list. Please, do we really need this? Definately gets points for the backwards stuff though!

All in all, "The Beatles" is a great album, though I think it's all over the map musically, and you can see the band going in their different directions. In my opinion, the best work in the later Beatles' catalog is "Abbey Road", and they avoided the filler crap they fell into when assembling this album.

...stay tuned for the next part in my series!!!

It's that time of year again!

Funny, I noticed that ABC is airing "A Charlie Brown Christmas" this year. Notice the top of the album cover, it was originally on CBS.

It's been a while, I know. I don't really know if anyone even reads this anymore, but anyway, if you do, I'm still alive and kicking. Work has been getting progressively busier over the last few months, and whenever I'm on the computer, I've been either ripping my CD collection to add to the Zen Player, or downloading stuff. Over the next few days, I'm going to change some of the sidebar links on the page, to include some of my favorite MP3 blogs as well..

Have a happy T-Day and I'll catch you later.....