20 Years Of CCM At Greenville College

Here I am on the last day of my visit to Greenville, my Alma Mater, my home for the four most formative years of my life. I came to visit friends, new and old, and to catch up with the music department as they celebrate their 20^th anniversary of CCM and homecoming. I was disappointed that Dr. J and Ani weren't invited back, and I let as many people know that over the weekend as possible. I'll make it up to Boston to visit them soon. I did get to meet Warren Pettit, the founder of the CCM program. I've never formally met him and it was nice to have the opportunity to talk with him. I was invited to his new project, the CMC in Martha's Vineyard. I'll have to do that as well. I also had the chance to meet one of my Jr. High heroes, Sarah Jahn (also a Greenville Alum). Some may or may not remember Sarah, but in the mid-90's she was taking the folk-rock world by storm. I'm still trying to shake the daze off, she's such an incredible artist.

I haven't been to campus in about 2 years and it's been nearly 3 years since I graduated. It's a clichéd statement, but so much has changed. The place still seems familiar though the faces have changed. Times like these I miss my college days. At the same time, I look around and realize I no longer belong here. Life moves on, I guess.

I've been staying with Dan and Erica Wolfe and they have been incredibly hospitable hosts. I've bumped into a ton of friends still lingering on campus or in the area and caught up with a few old professors as well as meet some of the new staff. Saturday night, Sarah Kim and I went out to catch Saw IV and then ran down the street to catch a concert with A Silent Film, Photoside Café and soon-to-be pop rockstar, Stephanie Smith. After the concert, a group of us went out to Buzzie's (by accident, we were actually looking for Steak 'n Shake). Lots of great stuff happened this weekend and there just isn't enough time to go into it all. Today, I run to the college bookstore to get some GC gear, get coffee with Sarah (Kim), lunch with Jacie and then out to visit the arch before heading to the airport to head back home.

It's been a nostalgic weekend, I miss you all, friends.

-Rod

PHL Sunrise…Soon

So it's still dark and I'm waiting to board my plane. I can't decide if I'm tired or not. I think I'm tired, but nervous. I won't really go into why I'm nervous…maybe another time. It’s not because of flying, I love airports and flying, just something else at the destination. As for where I'm going, well, some of you know and some don't. After this weekend most of you will know. For my close friends, pray for the best…I haven't been this nervous in a while. Anyway, much love to everyone…update: I'm in the middle of tracking one of two songs left for the album. TCGBGN…

-Rod

Goodbye Bonnie, Hello Toya

So the beginning of last week started like every couple months start, the '98 Pontiac Bonneville I've been driving since mid-college days showed signs of inevitable death. I was changing the power steering fluid and noticed the coolant tank was empty. I filled it back up and in a day or so later, it was empty again. So Nick helped me pull sparkplugs and two of six were wet. The conclusion? Slowly, but surely, coolant was leaking into part of the engine. This problem is fixable, but I've been looking for half a reason to get a slimmer, fuel-efficient and "color-I-actually-like" car. So after sifting through some details, finances and such, I drove over to the Toyota dealership and test drove a Yaris. I already had heavy recommendations from a few friends that purchased one as well as everyone I know saying, "A Toyota will last forever". After I test-drove one, I loved it. I went inside to look at financing options and all of them were better than I had expected. I left a deposit and left to choose a plan in the morning. Chris, the roomie, gave me a ride the next morning and I signed all the papers and left with a brand new, metallic charcoal 2007 Toyota Yaris. So Bonnie had her last ride (with me at least) and Toya has come to ride with me for a while. I kept Bonnie to fix her up as I got the money and eventually sell to defray car payments. I drove her around all day yesterday and today and love it. Well, finishing "Bruce Almighty" and heading to bed. G'night everyone.

-Rod

A Fortunate Consequence

I'm down to the last 3 tracks! Hopefully this post and the announcement will keep a fire lit beneath me and hold me accountable to get this finished and out there! Keep checking back for updates!