Entry Sixty-One.
Sunday, 2007.12.23, 11:48 AM CST.
Christmas Eve Eve.

"Something weird always happens on December 23rd."

That's what I used to say, many years ago.  I still say that sometimes, even though it really isn't accurate at all.  December 23rd is a very special day for me, for a reason that's just silly.  But, we'll get to that in a few.

I thought that I would be writing up the follow-up to Entry 60 a lot sooner than now.  Entry 60 was interrupted by a power outage, and in fact, I hadn't even uploaded Entry 60 until today, because I thought I would upload its "continuation" at the same time.  If you haven't read that one, I recommend going ahead and doing so, then coming back here.

Following Entry 60, our power went out here at our home, but only for about 2-3 hours.  However, a lot of Tulsa wasn't so lucky.  That evening, my wife and I went out to get some fireplace mortar to do some repairs before using the fireplace, and Tulsa was completely messed-up.  Due to the insane amount of ice build-up, trees that had survived for decades were down all over the place.  Traffic was being re-routed haphazardly through neighbourhoods due to blocked roads and power outages.  It seriously felt like a level in Half-Life or something like that.  It may seem overly melodramatic to say that it looked like a "war zone," and I'm sure that it didn't literally look like a war zone (no big craters or burnt-out buildings), but that was still the best way to describe it.  Some areas of northeast Oklahoma were without power for well over a week, and electrical workers were even brought in from out of state to help with the emergency situation.

After over three decades of living in the Tulsa area, I seriously had never seen Tulsa like it was on the evening of December 10th.  I hope that I never see it that way again.

Gearing Up for Christmas, and A Bit More About Mum
Things are a bit better, though we still have some fairly significant damage.  A couple of trees in our backyard got hit pretty hard.  We'll probably start working on them at some point after Christmas.

Ah, Christmas.  As I've mentioned before, it's bittersweet.  My mom's gone, but we have a son with whom to share it.  He's going to be an awfully lucky 8-month-old on Christmas morning, which makes me feel lucky since we are able to afford so many gifts for him, but also a bit sad because there are so many disadvantaged children out there that are in need of gifts (or, for that matter, food and shelter) this time of year.  (On a related note, if you are able to give to any legitimate charity organization, or if you are able to give directly to anybody that you know is in genuine need, please do so.  It'll really help, and it'll make you feel good inside.)

Back to my mother for a moment...  One of the strange things about losing her has been the way that people react to it.  I'll have people who knew my family come up and say that they heard Mum died, but then they don't bother asking how I'm handling it.  They jump straight to my dad.  "How's your dad holding up?"  I understand that he knew her for longer (they were married 52 years) and that he was left without anybody but his friends and other family members, while I am lucky enough to have a wonderful wife.  But, geez...  Is it really that tough to ask me how I am doing as well?  I am sure I'm coming across as a callous ass right about now, but in some cases, it's like people expect me to be completely "over it" and that they think my dad was the only person affected.  I lost my mother, for God's sake...  Someone I knew and loved my entire life.  I have the right to still be hurting, too.  (To be fair, there have been numerous people who also asked how I was holding up, and I'm really thankful for that).

To those who are wondering how Dad is doing...  Oh, he's doing very well.  He has been dating for a while, and is apparently now seeing a lady he knew way back in high school.  I'm happy that he is doing well in that respect and that he is not lonesome.  However, it is rather saddening and hurtful when he calls and tells me how much he just spent taking her out to dinner... when I know that he's spending way more on dinner with her than he ever would have thought of spending on dinner with my mother.  (For the record, my dad's not a rich man.)

Other Projects and Stuff
I have continued to work on the new DJBadger.com website design.  I would like to have it up and running by January, but I'm making no guarantees.

I am also working on redesigning the website for Tiph Hohmann, the vocalist with whom I have collaborated in the past.  So far, I've juggled a couple of ideas her way, and hopefully we'll come up with something really great.  More news on that later.

Due to financial and other constraints, odds are the "20-year-in-the-industry" anniversary party will be postponed from the February date for which I'd been aiming.  Stay tuned for more info on that, too.

I've found myself getting the remixing bug again, and I can say at this point that I am over halfway done with a remix of one of the tracks from the Nine Inch Nails album Year Zero.  It's a full-production mix of one of my favourite tracks on the album, and so far it's sounding pretty good.  Trent Reznor has set up a remix website (remix.nin.com) at which producers can easily share their work, so odds are that once my remix is complete, you'll be able to download a copy fairly freely and easily.  Trent is awesome like that.  I'll put up more information once I get the mix done.  Speaking of Nine Inch Nails...

"Something weird always happens on December 23rd."
Again, that's not a very accurate statement, but I have said it for years.  I shouldn't say that it's always something "weird."  It started way back in 1989, when I was still in high school.  I had just started EKG (my first mobile DJ company) that year.  I think that the morning was taken up with some sort of holiday-related school function (like putting together gift baskets or something; I don't remember exactly), then Mum and I went Christmas shopping.  While I was out, I picked up my first-ever copy of Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine, in the glorious cassette tape format.

Then, after getting home, I rushed over to see my friend Kevin (yeah, the guy from EKG) and had him listen to PHM.  We both agreed that it was pretty much an incredible album.  I think that was the first time that I ever went to his house instead of the other way around.  He showed me his drafting table, his comic books (he was/is a "Flash Gordon" freak), and some of his artwork.  We basically chilled out, taking about music and the holidays and whatnot.  Nothing "weird" happened, but it was really an amazing day.  I really felt like I had a genuine best friend.  To this day, he remains one of my best friends, though we rarely speak.  Perhaps I'll give him a call later today.

I want to say that something "weird" happened the next year...  But I can't remember exactly what it was.  The main things that I can remember were doing EKG gigs, worrying about college (it was my first and only year at the University of Tulsa), and putting together a Christmas package to send to my at-the-time girlfriend, who was down in Texas either cheating on me or getting ready to cheat on me.  I wonder how her throat cancer is doing.  Heh heh.

Anyway, that's it for now.  Lanna and I are about to go do some last-minute shopping, and then I hope to finish watching Scrooge - the old, somewhat creepy Albert Finney version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.  Scrooge is the version I always used to enjoy on the telly, and even though it's a joyful musical in parts, sections of it are quite creepy.  It's actually a very old film - it came out before I was born - but it is my favourite Christmas Carol variant, and I was thrilled to be able to purchase it on DVD this year.  Boo-yah.

Merry Christmas to everyone out there, and I will likely write again within the next few days.  This Christmas is a pretty big anniversary in and of itself, which I think I've mentioned before.  More news soon.

- Badger