A sorely needed update...

This blog has been sitting lonely for some time, so I figured it was a pretty good time to update it.

Quick run down of things that have happened...

This year:
1.) Moved into a house with a friend of mine from work we'll call BR. It's been working out extremely well -- he and I get along great.
2.) Gave up my guitar hero skills to pursue playing drums in Rock Band. We now have four players that come over and try and get on the "top ten" lists in the game. So far we are on four of those lists out of about 152.
3.) Was the best man in my Brother's wedding -- gave a speech that made mom cry a bit.

Last Month:
1.) Turned 26 and had a great birthday weekend. We celebrated at Bar Natasha where A works and people bought me too much alcohol. The following day went to a LAN party where BR and my rock band (called Earthy Thunder) competed against other expert level players and won. Then just to be sure, I challenged the other expert drummer to a drum off. Even dropping a stick I had enough points to win the match. We played 7 songs -- I beat him at 5. Check out the video (sorry for the language I got a little stressed on this one):



Then the next Sunday we had a huge BBQ at the house and played volleyball and games in the back yard. I actually had to go to be early the next couple nights to recoup from the weekend activities.

2.) I got a promotion at Cerner. Now instead of being a System Engineer, I am a System Architect. Which basically means instead of taking care of whatever is handed to me -- I'm directly responsible for keeping three hospital systems up and running. There's a lot of responsibility (24x7 hour support and being tied to my cell phone), but the perks are worth it I think. Better pay, and an extra week paid vacation. Plus, my new Boss told me she had a very laid back managing style which I think will be awesome for me.

3.) I bought an actual drum set and have started playing real music. I figured that all the Rock Band gaming was okay -- but a real instrument would be better. I plan on buying a double bass pedal for my drum set and modifying it so it can be used on my Rock Band set. I'll definitely send out pictures when it is done.

4.) A and I made it official. We're still taking things slow, but figured we were being exclusive anyway and calling each other boyfriend/girlfriend is just much easier than "that girl/guy that I've been sorta seeing and kinda dating, but not in a serious relationship with." So A has been officially titled "girlfriend". And for two complete commitment-phobes we haven't suffered any panic attacks yet...

This week:
1.) BR flew off to Ireland to celebrate the last days of his friend's bachelorhood. I've been cleaning up the house since it has been a mess since the BBQ.

2.) I've been enjoying the house to myself and making an errand here and there to help out with A's upcoming cabaret show called "The Doctor Is In." The show is tomorrow night and she's been pretty closed lipped about it so I'm excited to finally see it.

3.) Finishing re-finishing the dresser I inherited from college in Rolla. It now matches my new bed (love that bed) and the black theme I have going in my room. I have to say, this thing looks pretty good. I'll post more pictures when it is all done.

4.) Catching up on all the LOST episodes I've been missing. This season has been surprisingly good...

Next Month:
1.) I'll be going on a float trip in Cuba. Lots of A's friends will be going so it should be fun meeting all the people she hangs out with.

2.) I bought tickets to see two shows -- but can't say more than that. A is a snoop and I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.

3.) I'll be attending E's wedding on May 17th and will be driving home to attend that and see family and friends. I'm hoping Andy and J will let me play one or two songs with the Slick Chixxx on the drums. Looking forward to finally catching up with people I haven't seen in a while.

That should catch up everyone for now -- I'll try to update again soon (not the 6 month periods it has been lately).