Just after the New Year’s holiday, a former bandmate of mine came by my place to pick up music recording equipment he had left with me while he was away for schoolage. In my possession, multiple mediocre recordings were created. But ever since I returned from Dublin (end of June last year), I haven’t completed anything. So naturally, when my former bandmate asked if it was ok to have the equipment back, I said, of course, it was fine. Haven’t used the darn things in months.

So naturally, I want to start recording again.

Fortunately, I found a sleek-looking mic preamp under my bed, which my wonderful friend Jamie had given to me a year or so ago. Now all I need is to purchase an audio interface to connect to my Mac Mini. I thought about upgrading to a new Mac, but then I found an Engadget article about turning your Mac Mini into a low-cost recording studio. Maybe I don’t need to be too fancy with the equipment–and then maybe I’m not far from starting up again. I just need to dust off my instruments and learn to sort of play again.

If anyone has song ideas, feel free to add them as comments here. My goal is to churn out one song per month…we’ll see if that actually happens=).

This past week I flew to New York with Ryan to embark on a cross-country drive back to the Bay Area. We were retrieving his things in storage to bring back to Cali (which he can now officially call home=). His truck proved to be quite the champ, despite sitting in a parking lot in NY for like four years. Under Ryan’s meticulous guidance, I was able to help drive the truck, towing a U-Haul trailer–and not crash into anything. (I point this out because this is a feat for someone who is used to only driving compact cars.)

Anyway, this was more of a get-from-point-A-to-point-B-by-day-X kind of road trip. Not much time for leisure sightseeing. However, we did stop to see the Niagara Falls at night. It was so cold, the spray from the powerful falls turned into snow bits that wanted very badly to get into my eyes. Unfortunately, we both forgot our cameras. Hence, actual snapshots of our trip are limited to camera phone quality. These are the Niagara Falls from my phone…

Ehh...see it?

Most of our trip was spent in the truck driving by things. I suppose some baby highlights would be:

• Getting lost in Martinsville, Illinois (a lot like middle of nowhere) and successfully not sinking in a creek
• A Branson, Missouri radio ad about a show that includes a live gunfight and burning down a cabin
• Cuba, Missouri
• Lebanon, Missouri
• “Do Not Drive Into Smoke” signs in Oklahoma
• A full-blown dust storm near Oklahoma City, complete with airborne tumbleweeds (for more details, ask Ryan–I was asleep)
• Finding only one radio station when we first entered New Mexico (Tejano music, in case you are wondering)

I’m sure there were other things…I am now regretting not taking notes along the way. But I did utilize the My Maps Editor app on my G1 phone to document our travels.

View Larger Map

We got back in one piece. Ha-mazing.

Oh, and if anyone knows of any good documentaries out there about truck drivers, please let me know. I’m very curious now, having seen so many on the road. I think it’s an interesting career choice, constantly being on the road like that and usually alone.