Paintball!!! more or less. So instead of switching gears with my life I think I decided to get out of the car and get into another one. I’ve put down the guitar and picked up a gun…or marker…or paintball gun, whatever. The truth of the situation is that I have left the old behind and am now fully embracing the new.

God has graced me with something new and it has toys TOO. So somehow I now have this obsession with paintball and its not necessarily with the game or with the tools you do it with. The thing that has kept me coming back is the people. New, old, talented or not, I can’t help but be drawn to get to know who I’m trading paint with. I also enjoying new folks coming out to try something new and unconventional. Its really cool to see someone come back for the second time considering the price and the jerks you might meet.

to make this short and sweet, I’ll finish up by stating that David and I have decided to start playing competitively. We will be ramping up to play our first D6 tournament in February or March.

So for the past month or so, I’ve been a proud owner of a used turntable (That’s a record player for those out of the know). It all starts with a class called “History of Rock” that I’m taking during my last semester at UNCG. We’ve been going through the ages of rock and discussing different artists/bands and the influence they had on the music industry. Through the attendance of this class, I have had an increasing interest and appreciation for older music. This, matched with my love for gadgets, lead me to a local used book store looking at vinyl records. I actually ended up purchasing my first record (Led Zeppelin’s first album) with the intention of listening to it when I got a chance to visit my parents house. Somewhere in between all of this I was looking online for a used record player for myself. I couldn’t help put feel excited when I saw a used table on craigslist for sale. I made a phone call, asked a few questions, and it was mine. although dated technology, it was still really cool to experience something new that I never grew up with. This is all great and all but its not what I really wanted to write about.

Listening to records has been turning into something so much bigger than just dropping that needle and listening to some tunes. I feel like there is a whole new culture that goes along with searching for used/records, learning about stereo gear, and discussing bands that have mostly come to pass.

I’ve had some great opportunities to sit down and learn something about my parents that I had never learned before. One weekend while I was visiting, we pulled out their old albums and just sat and listened for couple of hours. It was cool listening to my parents talk about their favorite music and how they couldn’t stand each others differing tastes. My dad listened to bands like The Doobie Brothers, Three Dog Night, and Pink Floyd while my mom listened to Abba, Michael Jackson, and The Carpenters. I also learned about the progression of the technology of turntables and stereo gear. Let me just say that we have come a long way since then but don’t underestimate the brilliance of tech that isn’t used anymore. But the real thing I’m trying to communicate is that I’m now able to relate to my parents in a new way as well as people of an older generation.

I’ve also been searching around for stores that actually still sell records. Believe it or not, there is a place over on High Point rd in Greensboro that has hundreds and hundreds of records. If you’re looking for something in particular, you’re probably gonna find it as “Remember When.” I won’t claim that they have everything (who does) but they have a lot. This brings me to another point. I’m learning that people who are still in the business of listening to records are really helpful and friendly. They probably think its cool that someone from a different generation appreciates something from their own. Even the guy that sold me the turntable seemed to be happy that it was going to see some use by a college student. Edward McKays also sells records but its a little more hit and miss looking through their selection. Great prices though.

I fell like I’m rambling a little so I’ll tie it up. I was speaking to my father about what purchasing music was like in his day (the 70s) and what he said was rather interesting. Not many people owned a turntable at his age. In fact, he was the only guy in his group of friends that owned one. He would invite people over just to come listen to it. Radio still existed but being able to listen to a song when you wanted to hear it was almost a little rare. Listening to a record was more like an event, such as sitting down to watch a movie or playing a board game. It had to be roughly scheduled. Think about today’s world. Music is personal. Everyone has an mp3 player and everyone uses headphones. How often do people say “Hey I got a new CD, come over and lets listen to it together”? Plenty of things to point out. Most people don’t buy CDs anymore, most people don’t buy full albums anymore, and most people will say “I got this new song, you should buy it and check it out” or they will burn you a copy at the very least. The only time we actually look at music as a communal experience is either in church or at a concert.

Here is what I’m proposing. I would love to sort of reinvent the idea of music being a communal experience. I’m planning on having Vinyl listening partys where friends can come over, hang out, listen to music, and drink coffee, etc. Nothing is set in stone yet. I’m just generating ideas and trying to gain peoples interest. Who knows, maybe I can interest others into the idea of purchasing vinyl and keep an old technology alive.

Think about this in the context of using the Google search engine. You may think that its free to use but now lets say you need to buy a product you’ve never purchased before. Lets say you need to buy peanut butter and you end up buying JIF because you saw and ad on google. Brand recognition. You’re not self-consciously thinking this out as you buy things but in the back of your mind is a brand from an ad you don’t remember seeing.

I digress. Point being I’m tired of seeing woman who take off their clothes in order to have an anonymous audience to tell them their beautiful.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Let me start off by saying that I feel this verse is typically used inappropriately unless in the context of God representing love. But on to my real point.

I was reading through this section and trying to think of times that I had followed each of the things that love “is”. I came to the conclusion that I am not always patient, kind, non-envying, non-boasting, not prideful, not rude, and not self-seeking. I realized how often I fail to represent God in a way that shows love to a world in need. I may not delight in evil, but I realize that I unknowingly keep track of wrongdoing, I don’t always have faith and sometimes my perseverance is lacking. I sit awe-struck by the fact that sometimes I do just the opposite of these things. But I must also say that I stand amazed that we have a God that never fails at this. I read this passage again thinking of how great God is for the love He has for us.

For those of you that read this, what are your thoughts on this and how you effectively live this out? Have you ever noticed this to be a struggle?

The battle lines are drawn

Who’s side are you on

It weathers through the night

They can’t wait till light

When will you see

That shooting at your enemy

Is like friendly fire

When will you know

That standing on your own two feet

Is gonna bring you down

Will you lend a hand

Can I call you friend

The battle wages on

You shouldn’t be alone

You pray that they are wrong

And they always sing along

The ammunition’s scarce

And you don’t know if you can hold on

They say that you can run but you will never hide
You won’t survive

I digress. I started browsing around wordpress and noticed  haven’t writen in a while. I thought it would be great to touch on a few points, bullet style!

> I just got a new guitar! A taylor 410ce
> I am selling my eletric guitar as well a guitar amp
> Working on writing more music
> attempting to find venues to play at
> pushing to start recording
> working on finding a balance for worship music selection for the Patio
> going to Mike Astuto’s bachlor party on Thursday
> Attending the WFU vs. Maryland football game this Saturday
> Fall break is next Monday and Tuesday
> Finishing school work.
> ready for a tough team in fantasy football this week. Go cheese heads!

I think I’ll call it a day with all of that. Theres more to do but I’ll save it for more daylight.

You are updated!

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