music is back

it's been almost four months since I've been able to record a single track.

My new audio workstation is up and running.
yesterday and today I spent several hours learning the basics of my new recording software.

20 minutes ago, I recorded my first track.
here it is,
it's very rough, improvisational, and unedited.
but it's my first recording in my new studio,
and it's really good to be back.

there's a more interesting audio file at will and isaac's blog (also from today).

catching up (contains some nudity)

the pace of life seems a little hurried these days.

here's some snippets of what I've been up to since my last post...



will, riding the "barrel train" at an orchard/pumpkin farm a few saturdays back.




A couple weeks ago Isaac spent a few days experimenting with a new way of voicing frustration.
This would involve:
1) dropping everything
2) fleeing as fast as he could to whatever he perceived to be the edge of a safe perimeter
3) facing whomever he was upset with (from a distance of preferably 40 feet or more)
4) wailing his lament of injustice.

In this particular episode, his sprint from community was so passionate, I thought he might race into the orchard never to be heard from again... but he stopped at the treeline.

**





I took a very quick trip to NYC a couple weeks ago.
Can you tell it was my first time?



I went with the Jason Piasecki and Andy Maciejewski of a local creative firm (Qonverge), to pitch some marketing strategies to a music licensing & technology company.

Here we are in their studio just a few blocks from Times Square.

Experiential Highlights:
*Good company
*Street vendor hot dogs
*An interesting kind of work assignment
*Lots of frustrating air travel delays...
*Some incredible turbulence while fighting through a severe storm over NYC
*The resulting involuntary surrender of my lunch (ten seconds before wheels hit the ground)


**



Collectively, the boys and I have consumed hundreds of apples. (and thrown hundreds of sticks and stones into various bodies of water)


and spent in ordinate amounts of time at playgrounds.


this particular adventure was shared with cousins Emma and Maya while Liam played soccer on the other side of the fence.

**





Will hung out with Grandma GoGo and Maya while I got to have a special "just isaac" trip to GR for some allergy/asthma testing.

He leveraged his charm and bravery to draw amazement from every medical professional who came in contact with him; watching with cool curiosity as they drew blood, holding meticulously still for the student x-ray tech, and spending several minutes inspecting every single oil painting at the Butterworth Campus.

He got to pick his own food at the cafeteria, and then we spent some time in the ambulance bay boosting paramedic moral through ruckus cheering.





***




This morning, the boys slept in a bit. When they finally called for me I left my desk and walked into their room to find will celebrating the fact that he had succesfully removed every stitch of clothing from his body.

"naked. no pee" he assured me.

I asked him why he felt like he needed to be naked.
"Got it! clothes off! Self!"

Isaac was clearly impressed.

***

I'm still trying to get caught up but making some progress. But the boys will be with Andrea for a stretch of several days and I'm hoping to make a good dent.

and life is very good.

Ruddboys Update

The second half up September evaporated pretty quickly.

Because of the cabin trip, I ended up having the boys in my care for about 24 of the 30 days of September. It was a really fun month. But I didn't get much work done.

And the process of -divorce-navigation/homeselling/moving/downsizing/evicting/re-leasing/adjusting-
has required a lot of time.

So if I owe you a phone call, an e-mail, some quality time, or a gently used rhinestone studded athletic supporter, I apologize. I'm hoping to get my act together in the next 2-30 months.

***
Tony and Tara have done a great job of keeping Stock20 alive, but from a business standpoint, there is much to be done. From a musical standpoint I'm even further behind. I've been unable to record/compose new music for several months. Typically, the new music releases are what generate income.

This past weekend Andrea took the boys to Marshall/Olivette, allowing me to (mostly) finish two important projects.

1) My new "loft" bed, will allow me to add a recording studio to the space that is currently my kitchen, office, and bedroom. My "apartment" behind my parents house is definitely tight quarters, but it's working pretty well for now and my parents have been very gracious. I will post pictures of our minimalist bachelor pad soon.

project two:

2) "Little Red Caboose" beds for the boys. My own general uneasiness and the collective wisdom on raising twin boys suggests that it's not a good idea to turn them loose in big boy beds until you can put them in separate rooms. I think they could probably survive it (others have), I'm just not sure I could survive any further lack of sleep. And I'm not sure they are ready to make another significant transition right now.

So my goal was to create a larger, more comfortable, and more sturdy bed, that wouldn't be very different from the "pack and plays" they have been sleeping in.

Just for fun, both beds feature the much loved "little red caboose" on the front panel, and they can look through the caboose windows to see the their sidekick in the other caboose.

I've been working on them for a couple weeks, but hadn't gotten very far. We worked feverishly throughout Sunday to complete them, got them situated with only minutes to spare before the boys return from their weekend trip. (a special thanks is owed to anti-onion katie and her two associates for their invaluable help with artwork, construction, and cleanup.)

I had a camera ready for the "unveiling". You may notice Will as he expresses his excitement verbally. Isaac opted for a very passionate round of lively and percussive dancing...


As you can see, the beds were a big hit initially, and have since offered up 2 naps, and 3 successful nights of sleep.

I'm missing time with many you, and hope to be a better at whatever I am for you soon.
Life is very busy, but continues to be very good.

much love
-daniel

Update Coming Soon

sorry for the silence...
I should post an update on the activities of the ruddboys in the next two days.

For now, here's something better.