The Studio - Days One, Two, and Three (plus a little extra)

Actually, we're just about to head to day five, but I kept forgetting to update the first three days. But better late then never, I suppose. But I will post day four, along with the next two days, in due time.

The Studio: Days One, Two, and Three

The first day at the studio went better than we had hoped - we managed to get all of our scratch tracks down, plus we got the final tracks in for one song, and part of the final tracks for another. (For those of you who don't know, a scratch track is a recording of the main vocals usually coupled with the dreadfully annoying thing called The Metronome. We then proceed to record the final tracks, keeping in time with the metronome, and the lead vocalist can focus on the instrument he/she is playing, instead of singing.)

Our recordings are done at Swallow Hill Music Association in Denver. Sound guy, we found, was very nice and very patient with certain eleven year old brothers I know of, who are fascinated with the complicated and very expensive sound equipment.

Second day also went pretty well. We managed to get another good chunk in the final instrumental tracks down.

On the third day, Sean started feeling pretty sick, so he had to quit early. We tried to get him feel better by getting him some Ginger Ale and letting him walk around outside to get fresh air, but that didn't work. So we did what we could without him, and then called it a day.

On our way out, Dad, carrying his bass, managed to knock into a snow-covered branch at just the right moment with the top of the bass. I was walking right behind him. Gotta love cold snow down your back.

And I know there are no pictures - that's because I keep forgetting my camera. >.O I'll bring it with me tomorrow and see if I can get some good shots out of it then of the studio. :D

Plus a little extra:

Looky! Benny has a kilt. (Mom said skirt. Dad insisted he was a Scottish bus and was therefore wearing a kilt.)

And Benny covered in snow:

Stay tuned for more!

Hi! Remember me?

So, waiting two months between posts is probably not a good thing, right? Especially since I started my blog with the intent to update it at least weekly?

Oh, well. I'm posting now. That's good, right?

A lot of things have been going on lately, too many things to really sum up in one post, which is why going so long without updating is such a bad idea. I could try, I suppose, to sum it up in one post, but I'm not going to do that right now. (I do have an update post in the works, though, for band related things.) Right now I'm going to talk about....

NANOWRIMO 2011

NaNoWriMo is approaching as quickly as a freight train. A very large and intimidating freight train carrying a load of over 50,000 words. Thousands of authors across the globe await nervously for it's arrival, sharpening their pencils and keyboards and stocking their shelves with coffee. (Because I doubt any of them will have the time to run to the grocery store.) Some dread it, some are so exited they're almost giddy.

Among the people embarking on this month of literary insanity is me, happily joining in the fun with several members and friends from TheLion'sCall and Holy Worlds. NaNoWriMo is so much more fun when doing it with others. And for me, it's a lot easier to actually get something done if someone's holding me accountable.

This would be my third year doing NaNo, and I'm quite interested to see how it goes. My first year went smoothly and quickly (perhaps too quickly), finishing my goal within six days, with the final word count being around 62,000 before December. My second year I only just barely got to the 50,000 word minimum at the end of the month. Two very sharp contrasts. So I have absolutely no estimates as to how well I think it'll go.

My novel that I'm working on is probably my all-time favorite of all of my stories. It's the first book of a Trilogy, temporarily titled The Allikkai Chronicles, called "Above the Gray Skies." The synopis on my NaNo page is as follows:

Allikkai and the Graylands: Two worlds stacked, unaware, on top of one another. One is mystical, thriving, and colorful - the other dead and isolated. But the two share the same fate.

The disinherited prince of the Graylands, Xennon, seeks a better future for his people and is willing to risk anything to lead them to safety. Breyanna is a cursed girl trying to win her place back into society. Together must piece together the puzzle of the Grayland's wretched state to prevent the same from tragedy from happening to his hope, and her home - The Land Above the Gray Skies.

So, my friends, prepare your pencils and flex your fingers! NaNo is approaching. And for those of you who are not participating in NaNo... I hope you don't miss us too much. :P

Happy Writing!

Peektures

Well, this post is long overdue. We've been moved onto our Grandparent's property for over a week now, and I think it's high time to post a couple of pictures of the place.

I have to admit, I haven't had any trouble adjusting. At all. I suppose that should be a good thing, but I can't help but feel a little guilty because of that. That old house had been my home for eleven years - I thought I'd have a little bit more trouble saying goodbye to it. And yes, the initial goodbye was pretty difficult. And I did love it. But nonetheless, I've been absolutely peachy.

Maybe, after looking at these pictures again, I'll understand why. Because this place is absolutely beautiful.

And that's it. I could possibly have more in the future, but for now, that's all. God bless!

Midnight Ramblings

It's actually later than midnight, but I think I'm just going to keep the title. It sounds better than "Such and Such o' Clock Ramblings", and it keeps me from looking guiltily at the clock. Insomnia has won out yet again. And I admit, I'm a night owl, so I almost like it when I have insomnia. Until the next morning, that is. Which I suppose doesn't really help me sleep, but since I'm up anyway and sleep is still evading me, I thought I might as well write a blog post while I try to Find Sleep.

I give my apologies in advance for any blaring typos and hideous grammar mistakes.

So far, we're about halfway through the moving process. If all goes well, then we will be moved out of the house by Monday. I often wonder if that's an unreasonable goal, as we still have a ton of work to do.

There are boxes. Everywhere. Most of the contents in those boxes I shall never see again, as most of it is Going Away. Many of our larger furniture items are completely gone, including the living room couches. Currently we are substatuting an old futon mattress until that needs to go, too, but it's low to the ground and not very comfortable, so I doubt it will be used much.

Our tables and chairs are being moved out tomorrow. When I finally make my way towards 'bed', I will be sleeping on a bunch of blankets folded onto the floor, because every bed in the house, except for our parents', has been given away or dumped, or put in storage. Everything has been completely torn apart. I've said goodbye to things I'd rather not say goodbye to, but in the end, it will all be worth it. After all, it's not every day that a girl gets to travel on the road with her family.

 But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bit sad to move. I mean, this house is the only home I can remember - once I realized that, my former "Oh, what a shame...it's just a house" attitude quickly turned into something like "What in the name of Pete are we DOING?"

Of course, despite my doubts and fears and reluctance, I'm still quite willing - and thrilled - to make the jump, along with the rest of my family, into the unknown. But even so, saying goodbye to this dumpy old house by the park (don't even get me started on the park) is going to be hard. But then again, no one said that this was going to be easy - we all know it's not going to be easy, but we're willing to endure the pains and the goodbyes. God is in control. This is His decision, not ours. I trust Him to provide for us, and I trust Him to make Benny just as good as a home as this place ever was.

I mean, He parted the Red Sea. And all manner of other things. What've I got to worry about?

That being said, I need to go to bed. I apologize if this post hasn't made much sense, it being written at such a late/early hour. (I'm really not sure how Late or how Early. I won't look at the time. Ignorance is bliss, right?)

G'night!

Introductions

I must admit, I’m horrible at introductions. When someone asks me for one, my brain has the nasty habit of shutting itself off and letting my poor mouth fend for itself. My mouth isn’t very good at doing that. It can generally get out a few “Ums” and maybe something like “Well…uh…I…a…write…and…other stuff…”. But not much else.

So, in this introduction, instead of telling you about me, I’m going to tell you about someone else.

Meet Benny.

Benny is a Bus, formerly a school bus, made in 1993. He is the tour bus, and will probably soon be the home, of my family. He is thirty-eight feet long if you don’t include the mirrors, in which case he’s thirty-nine, so he’s one of the longer school-buses that you’ll find.

The man who converted the bus decided to paint him a tan color to blend in with the landscape - after all, he was going to be used for hunting trips. Now that he’s ours, Mom thought he looked a little too much like a stake-out vehicle, so at some point my sister and I will be spending and afternoon adding a little more color to the outside. Eventually we might even slap our band’s logo on the blank space at the back. But that will be reserved for a later time, this is what he looks like now:

 Cute, in’t he? We get to test him out this weekend at a Gospel Festival.

(Yes. Buses can be cute.)

A shot of the inside:

Mom’s going to be sewing burgundy curtains and hanging them over the windows, because she would rather not live in a fishbowl while we travel. There’s also a bathroom in the back, complete with shower.

My Bunk:

It’s pretty small, but I like it that way. Not only is it comfortable, it has a curtain and it’s own light (even an outlet!), so I can hide in it when I want some privacy. I’ve also discovered that it’s my ideal workspace - small, with limited distractions.

The driver’s seat:

Due to the fact that Benny’s licensed as an RV, I’m legally allowed to drive him with the current permit that I have. It was made clear at the beginning that I would not be driving Benny, at least not for a while, but it’s kinda cool to know that I can.

And that’s a flat screen TV. It came with the bus. Never, ever in my lifetime did I ever think that my family would get a flat screen TV. Ever. Of course, getting a bus hadn’t occurred to me either until about a year ago. Unexpected things happen, I guess. Even really shocking ones. Like flat screen TVs.

One more shot:

And that’s Benny. He’s not perfect yet, he still needs some tweaks here and there. Namely, he doesn’t have a generator, so things like the lights, air conditioning, and other conveniences won’t run unless he’s plugged into an outside source. My parents also need to buy an RV sofa bed to replace one of the couches with, so that they’ll have a suitable place to sleep. But all of his problems are relatively minor and can be fixed with limited headaches.

Thank you, God. ^.^