So its almost the end of July and after half of it has already passed I thought I would take a moment to look back at the summer to write down some of the great things that have been going on.
First, I have been spending most of this summer with a girl who I fell so completely in love with. She is just someone who I can be myself around and is the most lovable person on the face of the earth. I have been going to some family events with her this summer from cookouts at her house to relative’s parties and I have to say that her family is amazing too. Every day I am falling more and more in love with her.
The Rascal Flatts concert we saw at Montage Mountain was just amazing. They opened with Darrius Rucker (the lead singer from Hootie and the Blowfish turned country) and all I have to say is wow…I didn’t expect a performance like that. After that, Rascal Flatts hit the stage. I knew I loved the band, but seeing something like that in person just made me like them that much more. I really liked when they opened with “Summer Nights” which since then has turned into my favorite song and “Me and My Gang” was a close second. We only paid $20 for the tickets and had some really good seats (not lawn seats!) so Im thinking more concerts like this are in order. I know that we are getting tickets for Toby Keith with the gang.
At the concert I noticed that someone was there too with a guy. I was happy to see that she was having a good time and really do not have a jealous bone in my body. They seemed like a happy couple and I wish them all the luck in the world. Since the end of last year, I have learned to say goodbye to certain things in my past and its not to say that anyone or anything was a mistake, (there were some good times that happened) but things happened the way they did for a reason and helped bring us to where we are today.
I went to Atlantic city for the heart walk and came back with over $900 and I am not even a gambler!
In the beginning of this month I took a nice two week vacation off work which was long-long overdue. The first week was spent camping, then I needed a week to recover! If anyone really knows me, I love camping and that us usually the highlight of the year. Kevin, Dad, and Karen joined us along with McKenzie, Cloe, and of course Maya. It was a pretty good time, but we did get rained out 2 days which kinda was a downer. I know Dad and Karen didn’t stay the whole time but I really got me thinking about the whole camping vacation. It is not like how it used to be years ago with tons of people all having a good time and grandma and grandpa coming down every morning to have some breakfast with us. Its getting to the end of an era which I will really really miss, but what can you do when times are changing? Its getting to be too much work and not enough fun when its only a handful of people going. Hopefully, years from now when me and Kevin have children we can bring back the tradition, but until then I’m debating whether or not to do it next year.
Camping just isn’t the same without my grandfather there, especially in the mornings I miss hearing the quad putt-putt slowly toward the camp site. I know its something I need to get used to, but its just so hard. Last year was actually the first year he didn’t go with us, but I kinda told myself that he will get better and next year it will be back to normal. I am taking this rougher that I could ever imagine and sometimes you never know how much someone meant to you until they are gone. My grandfather was such a big part of who I am today and helped raise me as a kid. He was such a gentile and kind man without a mean bone in his body. He was a great listener even when you didn’t think he was listening to anyone. He is someone who I strive to be like and can only wish I could leave such a rich legacy as he did. He was the kind of person who impacted everyone he met in a positive way and nobody could ever say anything bad about. Im still kinda haunted by the way it all ended, wishing there was something I could do to help him other than run up Icecream to him and just spend the last weeks talking to him. I learned that no matter what, you need to take chances and follow your heart no matter what other people might think of you. I can can’t get the image of my dads face out of my mind. He looked like a little boy that day who lost his daddy and I kinda felt the same way. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my grandpa, and just when I think I’ve accepted it a song comes on the radio and once again I loose it.
The DJ business has been going very well and the money I won in AC really helped me finish buying all the equiptment I needed to start. I have purchased a full Behringer professional sound system with a library of songs that can rival most radio stations. Also, the lighting has been crazy and I bought some of the best lights that I think gave be the best bang for the buck including a Chauvet color strip, which is a 4 foot light bar filled with hundreds of LEDs that can fade, flash, and strobe with the beat of the music. Its really cool and have posted a video if anyone is interested on Youtube. So far I have done two weddings and some kick ass graduation parties. I have made enough at this point to almost break even with the cost of the equipment. At the end I have tons of people asking for cards, so you can’t get much better than that I figure 
. I have a little break then some stuff lined up for September then hopefully Christmas Party season will be in full swing. I also want to take a stab into the school dances, and think that will be pretty fun to do. Who knows? The sky is the limit. In August I will be attending a DJ conference and expo in the Taj Mahal so Im excited about that.
In other news, I got some pretty cool new AV equipment for the house. With my new tv, we upgraded the dish to the HD receiver which is sweet and holds about 350 hours of programming and can copy to a USB drive and all cool stuff like that. I also ordered a Monsoon Hava which should arrive soon (I can’t wait). Its like a slingbox on steroids and will allow me to watch my TV (including DVR) anywhere! I can use any computer to access my TV and even get it on my Windows Mobile phone. The phone is a Samsung Omnia with an unlimited data plan and has video out cables where I can hook it into a TV. What this means is that I can watch a program that I have on my DVR on my phone or even someone else’s TV. I know sick, right? The best thing too is that I can do that in DVD quality.
Im planning a Luau at my house on August 22nd but more about that later. Im kinda excited.
Thats it for tonight, I need to get some sleep because I have a long day tomorrow at work. We have Kraft visitors!
2008, Carl Schiel. Some rights reserved