A Morning to Remember

9-5-2008 

I think I’m good to go. It’s the first morning of the European tour and I’ve already done the stupidest things I can do (*knock on wood*).  So the way I see it I’ve got it all out of my system:

After a long night of getting to know the UWSP group and the locals at the Euro Youth Hostel Pub, I awoke this morning still a tad intoxicated. That doesn’t bother me. What did is when I looked at my iPod to see why the alarm didn’t wake me, only to realize it was 1:30 in the afternoon! I look at the bunk below me and one of my roommates  gone and the other is still passed out. I wake up the one still sleeping, tell him how late it is, and we both spend five minutes saying, “wft, we missed the tour. Where’s Chad? How did we sleep so late? Are we seriously still this drunk?”

Then one of the lovely ladies on our tour comes to our door and informs us that it is actually 8:30 in the morning and that we simply didn’t change our clocks.

Sadly, that’s not the stupidest part. Realizing that it was still early, I decided it was time for a run around Munich. Two minutes into my run I come to the following realizations:

            I’m still ridiculously intoxicated

            I can’t see, as I didn’t put my contacts in

            I have no clue what street our hostel is on

            I don’t speak German

Needless to say, I made it back and I’m alive. You live, you learn.

A First Night in Munich

9-5-2008 (wee early hours)

Seeing as it is rather early in the morning on a Thursday night / Friday morning, I’m going to make this quick. In a nutshell, one of my roommates was too young to hold his alcohol and the other roommate got him to bed. By the time I was ready to go to bed, they were both passed out. So I had to go to the front desk and ask for a €5 Euro room card in order to get into my own room.

Prior to the binge drinking we had dinner at an amazingly authentic German restaurant. Amazing mushroom soup, salads with cauliflower, green beans, and sour coleslaw mixed in, and the main course consisted what we eventually somewhat agreed was pork with a dumpling-like ball.  I loved every bite, however the salt content of everything was a bit overwhelming after a few bites. For dessert, lime jello with a vanilla pudding on top. All of that, plus a liter of Munich’s finest brew definitely filled me up.  Until tomorrow!! 

On the Bus

9-4-2008

I hate looking at things in a racial perspective, but little Indian children have the widest, cutest eyes I have ever seen in my life.  I only say this because I spent close to 6 hours staring at a little child who ran up and down the aisle for the majority of our 8 hours in the air. Even a newborn, who just happen to be three rows in front of me, have extremely wide eyes for his/her tiny head. I’m guessing that my new position as an uncle has me noticing small children more, opposed to just ignoring them if they are prior to the age of 8.

Can’t really complain about the flight too much. Either I slept much more than I usually do on a plane, or the flight just caught some great headwinds. As mentioned in my previous post, nothing on this damn plane worked, but meh.
 

Now we are all on a 3-4 bus ride headed from Frankfurt to Munich.  Apart from the signs in German, the amount of Audi’s, Mercedes and Smartcars, and the nuclear power plan we just passed, Germany looks ridiculously close to Wisconsin. 

Always a Way to Get Robbed

"don't make me a target" - spoon

Killing Flight Time

9-3-2008

This precious old lady sitting next to me  speaks only German. I speak only English. Every so often we mutter something to one another, point or gesture in a certain way, and then end our interaction by both saying ‘jah.’ I wish I spoke German….

Oh and Air India is the most ghetto airlines I’ve ever flown.  Every seat has a television, however, only half of them work and my knees are holding up the tray table that is holding my laptop. As long as we make it to Frankfurt, I’ll be happy.  

Let It Begin

Seeing as how I will not always be able to get on the internet everywhere I go, I will be writing as I go and posting it when I can. So pay no attention to the time stamp, rather, the day I wrote the entry will begin each post. Enjoy savoring Europe!

9-3-2008

If I’m going to have to pay for wi-fi in every airport throughout this journey, I’m going to be severely upset. But I better get over it fast, because chances are every airport, train station, or hostel will try to charge me this $9.95 a month fee which I suppose is sweet if you’re a business man doing most of your work in airport terminals.  However, I am a poor college student who just paid $5.25 for a Miller Light and will probably be going back for another in a few minutes.

So far, pretty sweet. Lovely people and looks like lots of good times ahead. Next time I write will be from Frankfurt, Germany. Prost!

Where has All the Summer Gone?

Like when I was 4 and I asked my mom where my pet goldfish went and she said, "to the hospital in the toilet." I don't think summer went to the hospital, but at times I feel like it may have gone down the toilet. It isn't until I really stop to think about how I filled my days and hours that I realize, I've done a wide array of activities this summer.

Besides the 8 pounds of a new family member that entered life last Thursday (see previous entry), here's what summer has entailed for me by laundry list:

• The Bellin Run - always a great way to start summer, finished a minute slower than in 2007...too much drinking and not enough running this past year
• Shuffleboard at Elbow - this is symbolic of all the random nights of socializing at local Stevens Point establishments
• Receiving the MacBook - life changing...period
• Bakken Wedding - the day of the wedding while the lady folk got ready, the guys took a limo bus from Appleton to Gbs to visit the Packer Hall of Fame, and I learned to play uke for the wedding
• Brilliant Home Cooking - when I was able to get some time with roommate Jenny, we made delectable dishes
• Fourth of July - celebrating freedom in all sorts of ways (video to come)
• 90fm Display Case - if ever in the Comm. Building on the UWSP campus, check out the amazing display case designed and created by yours truly
• Moving Out - always tugs at the heart strings, but this move out was fun as well
• Burning Stuff - no better way to put away the past than by burning crappy hats
• Goodbye with Good Friends - the best ones have fun and can dish out good advice
• Camp Twin Lakes - one month of summer camp as opposed to 3 like most summers, however that one month rivals many summers for the best I've ever had

Schnikies, there was a lot, and that's just the stuff I have pictures for and can remember. NOW, I leave for Europe in less than 24 hours.

I Hope I'm Like Uncle Buck

I arrived just as the contractions stopped being a cute inconvenience and turned to riving pain. My sister was trying to have a natural birth with no pain medication, however, after an entire day of labor and a few hours of what looked like unimaginable pain, she took a pain medication that more or less numbed her from the waist down.

At this point, she had gone all day and had only dilated about four and a half centimeters. Assuming that the other five centimeters necessary for her to give birth would take another few hours, I was sent on a sandwich run for my family, as hunger pangs were striking hard.

I arrived back in the hospital parking lot with the sandwiches. Leaving to get a bite were some friendly parents whose daughter was going through the same thing as my sister (only their daughter was on her 3rd day!) and they yelled to me, "better hurry, she's waiting for you!"

In the half hour it took me to order five subs, my sister had dilated another five centimeters and was ready to pop out Baby Brylla. I was just in time to see the final few contractions. With video camera in hand and my MacBook capturing that baby's first sounds, I watched a tiny little life enter this world.

Viewing a child birth does weird things to you. If I ever saw someone covered in blood gurgling mucus in their mouth as they spoke, I would probably throw up in their general direction. However, this little thing that looked like something out of Alien brought tears to my eyes as my sister saw her for the first time and the doctor shouted happily, "it's a girl."

At 6:45pm today, I became Uncle Shawn to a yet unnamed beautiful eight pound baby girl.




It was my first time viewing a live birth, and while I tried to make sure my sister's leg was always blocking the truly disgusting parts, I did eventually end up seeing more of my sister than I ever wanted to...however, the beauty that is child birth stirred the emotions in all that were present: my sister, her husband, my other sister, mom, dad, and a few medical personnel.

In the end, I couldn't help but to be proud of my sister and brother-in-law. They worked wonderfully together: Nick being ever so patient and catering to every need Bridgette had, and Bridge carrying through the whole ordeal with such strength and poise. I don't think I have ever seen a smile on Nick's face quite like he had when he locked eyes with that little girl for the first time. In that lingering smile, I saw their bright future together.

This little girl also has great timing, for two reasons. The first being I book out in less than a week for a European tour. Missing this girl's birth would have been a downer way to begin my journey. Instead, her birth was the perfect capstone to a pretty stealer summer. The second reason being rather coincidental. Before I glued my eyes to the computer monitor to write this, I sat down and was enthralled by Obama's final speech in Denver from the Democratic National Convention. Now, I'm not going to turn a lovely blog about my newborn niece into a political rant, however, I couldn't help but to watch Obama's unifying, action-provoking speech and think, "this girl's got a bright future."

I can only hope that by the time I publish this post they have a name picked out for her.....

It's Been a While

Failed. The whole blogging at least once a week goal I had going for me this summer, didn't happen (as you may have noticed). Believe me, I have a ton of excuses which I will write about in my next blog.

In the mean time, however, here's a guest blog I wrote for mouemagazine, an online blog magazine. Check it.... my musical blabbing

This is our weekly GUEST COLUMN. If you’d like to submit a Mix Tape, email Brandy at mouemagazine@gmail.com with “Mix Tape” in the subject line.

Tonight’s guest blogger is Shawn Connelly, musician/DJ/wanderer of the earth extraordinaire, who was gracious enough to share some favorites with us.

Over the past four years if I wasn’t in an 8ft by 6ft practice room working at becoming a better musician, I was keystroking my way through another pointless research paper. So when I heard I could be a guest at Moue and write about music, I leapt at the opportunity….that is a lie. Truthfully, I put it on the back burner as a definite “I’ll get around to doing that someday,” meaning a year or two from now, if ever. Then I was encouraged, rather cattle prodded, by a Moue blogger to get one in NOW. [He's overstating the case just a tad - ed.] So here I am, and in all honesty, I couldn’t be happier to do it.

I had a long drive last night and as I scrolled through my freshly loaded iPod Touch (gotta love Mac and their “you’re-a-student-have-a-free-iPod” policy) my only thought was, “what the hell has happened to me?” My music tastes have done a 180 and my car almost did too as I bounced along a bit too intensely to the beats.

From playing rock guitar at a young age, to joining high school musicals (truthfully to chase after a girl, but eventually loving musical theatre), to studying four years of classical music at the University level, and finally now landing on electronic and indie music after spending those same four years at a college radio station, I’ve mastered music appreciation (and also the run-on sentence).

Because it’s what I’m most into now, this mix tape will consist mostly of the electronic music and some indie that fires my pistons late at night, or any time of the day really. However, I’ll also toss in a few of those gems I’ve found from all sorts of genres that have molded me into the musician I am today.

Follow over the flip for the tunes:

Justice: Let There Be Light: Cross – Truth be told, this entire album makes me happy in all the right places. However, I found myself conducting along to this song in the car….yup, nerd.

Crystal Castles: Magic Spells: Crystal Castles – a head bobber, foottapper, whatever cliché term you’d like to apply to it.

Cut Copy: Lights and Music: In Ghost Colours - music + beats + singable lyrics = I’m pleased.

Daft Punk: Television Rules the Nation/Crescendolls: Alive 2007 – Daft Punk is nothing new, but this remix album/show (Lollapalooza 2007) took what they had and did something completely new with it. Another reason they rock - they don’t sue people for posting videos of their show on Youtube.

Hot Chip: Over and Over: The Warning – if this British electropop group doesn’t get you moving, check your pulse…in your neck and wrist just to be sure.

Hot Chip: One Pure Thought: Made in the Dark – taboo to put an artist twice in a mix tape? I don’t care. The contrast between these two songs yet their ability to stay true to their sound is worth the repeat.

Jose Gonzales: Killing for Love: In Our Nature- messed up music video, great musician.

Pat Metheny: Last Train Home: One Quiet Night – one cannot be guitar player and not appreciate Mr. Metheny, period..and I just played him on the jazz radio show I’m DJing right now.

Jason Robert Brown: She Cries: Songs for a New World – remember that musical nerd side of me? Well, this man began the new age of musicals as we know them, simply songs that tell stories that intertwine to make a stage show.

Joseph Stillwell: Bright and Energetic: Sonta No. 1 for Saxophone and Piano – academic music has given me a great appreciation for classical music. However, many are surprised to discover this post-modern side of classical music.

There's a Bird in My Garage

...... and it has been there for well over a month. Sitting, rarely moving. A mother, no doubt, keeping her eggs safe and warm. She sits relaxed in the tranquility that is our menagerie of a garage, as chipmunks, squirrels, bats, and I think even a small kangaroo come and go as they please.

Even when I rustle through her area to take out the trash or roll in late at night with the car's headlights on, she sits, calmly yet with a watchful eye. No matter the ruckus or the apparent danger, she sits, protecting, just waiting.

Poor thing. Just sitting there. I understand the necessity for parental sacrifice to ensure the safety of her young, but how mundane. Sitting, sitting, sitting, and our garage is really not all that much to gaze upon. How she must long to be free, hop off that nest, spread her wings again, and fly.

I finished my final summer course today, and with it's completion, I've reached the finale of my classroom purgatory. I am a college graduate. As I sat today in those unforgivingly uncomfortable desks drowning out my professor with my thoughts, I could not help but to feel like that bird. The end of my wait was a couple hours away, I could already feel a draft under my wings.

The past four weeks of sitting in that classroom had been the longest classroom hours I have ever suffered through, and I've had some professors who can make an hour seem like you're the one strapped to Ixion's wheel. The way I see it, if I did not gain anything from the crappiest of classes, it's my own fault, my own waste of money. Well, my parents money in all honesty. But that is all the more reason why I knew I had to take advantage of every opportunity over the past four years. Because the past four years truly have been an incredible opportunity, and whether I slept through a class or strived for success, a sacrifice was made for me to be there.

Once those eggs hatch, mama bird will teach her young lings to fly, then off they go. All that sitting. Then one day she is left watching their tail feathers as they all flap away. I'm spoiled, bottom line. But I give myself some credit because I know it, and I will never take for granted the amount of time my parents spent warming my egg, catching worms and regurgitating them into my mouth... well, none of their cooking was really that bad.

Huh, I started writing this blog thinking I was that bird, and in a way I am. Freed from iron bars of term papers, grade point averages, and exams and ready to get caught in a wind current that will take me God knows where.

But that bird is also a glance back 22 years ago, when I had to be protected and kept warm. Thanks mom & dad, I'm ready to fly.

Central Wisconsin Backwater Adventure

While this was filmed on June 9th, I'm only now posting it. I'll work on that turn around time on these videos. Chances are that John (the other guy in the video) and I are the only ones who will find this remotely entertaining... at least you can see how beautiful Central Wisconsin is in the summer!

UWSP in Thailand, Amazing Children

This is a small section of the 50 minute promotional documentary I did for UWSP's international programs on The Thailand Project. See the whole thing at youtube.com, keyword "UWSP in Thailand"

Saying Hi to Mae Sai

This past winter I spent a month in Thailand teaching art, dance, and music to the children at the Development and Education Program for Daughters and Communities (http://www.depdc.org/). The video here is simply me saying hello to the most amazing people in Thailand.

Loosing my Virginity

My first attempt at video blogging....let me appologize for this one right up front.

The Things You Own....

I helped my dad move this past weekend. It seems the end of May always brings about many moves, as the college students head home or at least out of the dorms for the summer. No matter who moves or where they're moving to, I can't help but to remember a quote from the movie Fight Club. .

For those of you who have not seen this masterpiece of cinema, or even better read the book, Tyler Durden, played by Edward Norton, is tormented by his alter-ego, played by Brad Pitt. At one point in the movie, Durden's alter-ego creates a gas leak in his apartment which sets it ablaze and destroys everything that, he claims, makes him who he is. Later, Durden is venting with his 'other half' over a pichter of beer about his Pier 1, catalog-ordered-life being ripped out from underneath him. Pitt's reply:

"The things you own, end up owning you."

After you've spent days, or weeks even, putting 'your life' into boxes, moving it to a new location so you can unload 'your life' to start a new life in a new location, how can you disagree with that statement? I'm not saying that my father or the friends I've helped move recently are all pack rats with a bunch of junk. Really, it's an American epidemic. We want more and more because we feel it adds to our prestige or that it defines us. Perhaps some of you reading this do define yourself by what you own, and to an extent, I can see where one could make that argument.

I'm a musician, as are many of my friends. Around the music department at my university this conversation isn't an uncommon one:

Hey do you know blah-blah?"

"Ummm blah-blah doesn't sounds familiar"

"You know, blah-blah the cello player."

"Ohhh right, him".

A good friend of mine is currently studying for his masters in oboe performance, and another percussion performance. For these people they may define themselves by their possession. However, if I had to categorize it, I'd say it's a tool. They define themselves by a tool used for their craft. The same as an astronomer may hold tight to her telescope, a writer to her pen...or laptop, a carpenter to his saw or hammer, or a priest to his bible. This kind of obsessive possesion I can handle.

Other material worths, I feel, can also define you. What you wear says a lot as a first impression. However, I also feel you can dress one fashion and act in a completely different manner than that of what your wardrobe portrays. For example, I've met some amazingly friendly goth people, but when you walk past them and make eye contact, they look like they are ready to bite your jugular.

Jewelry or art you have in your home can also define you, as can your car, your home itself, your....wait, ok, so almost any material thing can help people know who you are. So what am I getting at?

For me, I guess, I want to be someone who is defined by me. I want to be perfectly happy with just a backpack and it's contents as my possessions. The 'American Dream' as it is called is far from my dream. The white picket fence with a huge house full of pointless consumer products, not for me. How can I keep this in check? Just ask, "does what I own, own me?" Right now, sadly it does...