There are a few things which aren’t going particularly well in my world right now, but they’re the kind of things that you can’t talk about on your blog.  So, I’m not really in the mood to be all witty and funny.

I’ve also been in the studio finishing up the final touches on my latest audiobook creation, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  It’s completely recorded, mixed, and mastered.  I spent the weekend finishing up the music, burning the discs, doing the cover art, etc.  All I’ve got left to do is give it one final listen-through for QC purposes, fix any errors I find, and then I’ll be ready to release it to the world.  And, even if I say so myself, this is, by far, the best audiobook I’ve done yet.  The sound quality is excellent, I am really pleased with my performance, and Frankenstein really is a great book–nothing like any of the movies I’ve ever seen by the same name.

What else?  I’ve started trying to run 30 minutes every couple of nights to help get back into shape.  I’ve stopped buying my lunch at work every day, choosing instead to bring in leftovers from my cooking.  I planted my container garden (pictures coming soon), and I’m still continuing to make my awesome no-knead bread at least a couple of times a week.

Luke the Dog is dealing with his seasonal allergies again.  He gets topical staph infections every time he swims in the lake…I think he’s probably allergic to some of the algae that grows in there or something.  So, he doesn’t get to go swimming as much as he’d like to–which is pretty much all the time since he’s a Golden Retriever.

I’ve been listening to the audiobook version of the EXCELLECT Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins.  I’d highly recommend them for people who like well-written but not-pretentious novels.  I’ve not gotten this engaged in any novels since the Harry Potter series, and the also excellent Fablehaven series.

Oh yeah, and I’ve decided that I’m going to start a separate photoblog for posting all my photos.  I’ll probably still post a few here on this blog, but I wanted a single place where I could put all my photos and find them easily.  Plus, the wordpress theme for the photoblog is SWEET!  You can visit it at http://photoblog.mattarmstrongmusic.com.  I haven’t tweaked all the settings yet, but I love the main entry page.

That’s about all that’s going on with me.  I’ll try to do a better job with posting my happenings here but, let’s face it, now that the nice weather’s starting to show up, I’d much rather be outside or doing something naturey than writing epic blog posts.

‘Till next time!

Of course, with all great honors come great responsibilities, and the Beautiful Blogger award is no exception:

1. Thank the person giving you this award.
2. Copy the award to your blog
3. Place a link to their blog
4. Name 7 tidbits people don’t know about you from reading your blog.
5. Nominate 7 Bloggers.
6. Place a link to those Bloggers.
7. Leave a comment letting those Bloggers know about the award.

So let me commence:

Thanks, Megan.  You are one of the most honest, courageous, and giving people I’ve ever met in my life.  I’m constantly astounded at your strength and character, your openness and ability to love others.  On more than one occasion, you’ve made me feel important when I was alone.  I hope both your husband and your daughter (and even your dog) recognize how lucky they are to have you as a part of their lives.  And I’m so grateful you’re a part of mine.

http://nelsfamily.blogspot.com.  It’s mommy blogging done right.  Check it out.

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I’m brutally open on my blog, and I feel like the only things I haven’t said here are the things I can’t say because doing so would be detrimental to me in some way.  But I’ll try:

1. When I was young, and our washing machine was broken, I used to offer to go to the Laundromat and do the clothes so my mom could do other things.  She’d drop me off, and I’d stay there for two or three hours and do laundry.  I was, like, 11 or something.  It sounds altruistic, but the only reason I really wanted to go is because I’d take money and buy the junk food in the vending machines my mom would never let me get otherwise.  (Hostess Fruit Pies, for instance.)  Also, most of that money for the vending machines was stolen from my dad’s junk drawer in the form of loose change.
2. I don’t like New York City.  I went once as a senior in college and had such a bad time I’m not sure I could ever enjoy going there again. 
3. I’m not a live to work kind of person.  I’m a work to live kind of person.
4. And one point or another, I have played the following instruments: Piano, Tin Whistle, Fife, Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Baritone/Euphonium, Drums/Percussion, Clarinet, Flute, Organ, Guitar, Bass.
5. I desperately want to learn how to play the saxophone and the theremin.
6. If I could pick any instrument to be a master of, it would probably be the Clarinet.  There are few instruments more entrancing than a well-played clarinet (Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Daron Bradford, Ray Smith).
7. My nose hair is growing at an alarming rate.  If I didn’t trim it every couple of days, I could probably braid it and put little beads on the end.

___

Now 7 Blogs that I love.  Let me just pull up the Google Reader here:

• Hatrack River – This is the blog and website of writer Orson Scott Card.  I’ve always loved his writing, and his OSC Reviews everything columns is wonderfully crotchety. 
• Jamelah.net – An old friend from high school, Jamelah and I were both in theatre together.  She was one of my two or three closest friends during that time in my life.  I left Michigan, though, and we lost touch.  I still follow her blog religiously, and love her writing style.  She’s also a pretty fierce photographer.
• NoFo – I just randomly found this blog one day…I don’t even remember how.  It’s the blog of Jake, a gay may in Chicago.  He’s a fantastic writer, very funny (I’ve stolen several running gags from him) and brutally honest.  I don’t often agree with him politically or religiously, but I love his blog.  I’ve read the whole thing from beginning to end.
• Rachel Thurson Photography – I don’t know Rachel in real life, but I aspire to take the kinds of photos that she does.  She often ties in her photos with some personal stories and thoughts.  Great blog.
• Taylortots, Aprilcots & Meh – April was the receptionist (and I’m sure she did a WHOLE lot more) in the office of the Knight Mangum building at BYU, where most of my classes were held as a musical theatre major.  She was also there when I was teaching after I graduated.  I barely got to know her when I was in school, which is a shame, because I get the feeling she and I would have gotten on well.  I made up for it now by reading her blog…inparticularly this hilariously awful post about a really bad day.  Be warned, though.  April has committed the one cardinal sin of blogs: she has music player on her blog that starts playing automatically when you visit the page.  (Sorry April! ;)
• Go Fug Yourself: Because Fugly is the new Pretty – Go Fug Yourself is one of those guilty please type of websites for me.  It’s two snarky girls who make fun of celebrities tragic fashion choices.  They are really, really funny.  Take, for example, this awesome take on the Harry Potter gang.  I know it’s not contributing good things to the world, but I still love it.

I also do the fortnightly Open Book Audio podcast with my partner, Andrew, and we talk about audiobooks in general.  We also have samples of other audiobooks, giveaways, and an occasional epic rant or two.

You may also remember that one of my resolutions for the year is to get back into writing music more often.  I haven't been writing much lately, and wanted to get back into it.  Over the last week or so, I've been writing and producing some music that I can use for the intro and outro music for the OBA podcast, and in doing so, I realized something: I've missed my calling in life.

You see, I started trying to write something that was like the theme to NBC Nightly News or the Olympics or something.  But as I got going along, i realized that I was being taken on a journey through musical time, back to that magic era where all television shows had immensely awesome theme songs–the 80s and early 90s.  (My love of the awesome TV Theme Song has been well documented here.)  Before I knew it, I had written an intro theme that was so quintessentially 1989 that I may have squealed with delight…like a big old 'mo at a Barbra Streisand concert.  It wasn't want I had set out to write, but it was SO much more awesome.  I was BORN to write TV theme songs for 80s and 90s television shows.  I was just born about 20 years too late.

So, sit back, grab your slap bracelets, jelly shoes, and hypercolor clothes.  I am proud to present, with no further adieu, my piece de resistance, the Theme to the Open Book Audio Podcast.  Bask in the 80s!

Open Book Audio Podcast Music

Click HERE

Also, if you don’t regularly follow Jamelah, you should, because she’s a pretty awesome writer, and she updates her blog a whole lot more often than I do.

And in case anyone thinks it might be a good idea to see Twilight, let me correct that erroneous line of thinking right now.  This movie was one of the more purile, atrocious, hideous translations of a novel to celluloid in the history of film.  It’s so bad, it would be added to my list of movies for bad movie night if it weren’t so painfully dull.  If it had been any worse, it would have been bad enough to be funny.  Instead, it’s just bad.

Blech.

(There is a whole story behind why I went to the movie in the first place, but that’s another blog post.)

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It’s late on Sunday night, and I’m staring yet another week in the face.  I’ve been working a regular job nearly every day for the last year and a half…the longest I’ve ever held a full-time job in my life.  (Not that I’ve ever gotten fired…just that I was never in a show that ran that long, or never worked anywhere full-time.)  I’ve settled into what I call “apathetic Zen” when it comes to my work life…it’s not particularly fulfilling, exciting, or enjoyable.  But, it’s not particularly annoying, frustrating, or maddening.  I just can’t seem to get up enough energy to care about it one way or the other.

The only time I really dislike work is on Sunday evenings right before I go to bed, because I know that when I wake up in the morning, I have to jump back into the grind of things.  Walk the dog, go to work, walk the dog, do homework, walk the dog, go to bed.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

Ever since I started working a full-time job, the weekends have become my absolute favorite time.  Nothing special ever happens on my weekends, and that’s really the way I like it.  I don’t set an alarm, I don’t have a schedule, I am able to get my house back into some semblance of order (I actually steam-cleaned my carpets today!)  I take two naps a day on Saturday and another two on Sunday.  I get to play with my dog.  I eat out.  I watch TV and play video games.

It’s amazing, the deeper I get into corporate life, how much I have grown to cherish these two days at the end of the week.  And time away from work, in general.  I recently interviewed for a job with Amazon.com.  After going through six hours (SIX HOURS!) of interviews, they happened to mention that the job was an hourly position, not a salary position.  That meant less vacation, less substantial benefits, etc.  The recruiter told me that the money was the same, but it was only a couple of weeks of vacation difference between the two jobs.

It was at that moment that I realized: I would actually rather have more vacation, more time off, than I would more money.  I make enough money for my needs, and most of my wants.  In the last 12 months, I purchased a 42″ TV, a Tivo, a digital point and shoot camera, a digital SLR camera, a computer, a surround sound system, an iPhone, a Zune, an Xbox, a Playstation, a Wii and Wii fit, a Chaise Lounge, a Sofa, a TV stand, a reciprocating saw, a steam cleaner (thus the carpet work mentioned above), a new wardrobe, and several pairs of shoes.  I don’t need more money.  I need counseling to cure my shopping and technology addictions, but that’s another blog post.

There are so many things I still want to do.  I want to learn to play all the instruments.  I want to write my novel.  I want to cook and bake.  I want to watch all the movies in my Netflix queue, and read all the books in my Goodreads list.  I want to take up hiking and improve my abilities with my camera.  I want to start traveling and seeing the parts of the country and the world that I haven’t visited.

I’m young, still.  It’s always easy to think, “eh, I’ve still got time.”  But when you spend all of your time working, you don’t really.  I love the steady paycheck.  I LOVE the toys that I can buy with said paycheck.  I love living in a comfortable, spacious apartment on the shore of a beautiful lake.  On Sunday nights, though, I sometimes wish that I could actually have the time to enjoy it all.

But, knowing me, I’d probably get so bored with my life without work that I’d end up hating it.  Darn paradoxes.

I’m a big fat pig
Lacking self control
With a love for misery
Of the seven
Deadly sins I
Love Sloth and Gluttony!

(To the Tune “Geneology” from the Children’s Hymnal)

Saturday.  Ah, blessed day of release.  Ardent follower of payday.  You are my sole reason for living.  I work simply so I can enjoy you with reckless abandon.  You. Complete. Me.

After 7,430 months of rain and gray skies, the god of Seattle Weather must have gotten back on his meds–for we finally received sun.  With the coming of the summer solstice also came a parting of the cumulo-nimbus and a drastic uptick in my emotional well-being.  And the fact that it coincided with a weekend made it all the better.  I don’t have windows at work.  (Side Note: One of my life’s great ambitions is to have a job where I have an actual office with a window.) 

Today, I slept in, took Luke out, went to the bank, the farmer’s market, and the library.  Then I went to Whole Foods to fulfill my gluttony for the day.  I got the following:  Cucumber and Avacado California Rolls, A peppered turkey sandwich on a pretzel roll, white chocolate and raspberry gelato, creme brulee, and a lemon-blueberry tart.  The remainder of the day, save for a trip to the dog park for the puppy, was spent on the phone with family, watching TV, doing some homework, and eating like a pig.  Oh.  And sleeping.  (The four hours of naps I took today are why it’s 2:00 AM and I’m still awake.)

I’ve eaten so much that I nearly made myself sick.  I figure it’s like aversion therapy.  Now, when Monday comes, I’ll be content to go back to eating my salads and veggie stir fries.  And work.  There is just something beyond magnificent about Summer Saturdays in Washington.  They are relaxing and laid back in a way that Saturdays never were in Utah.  Of course, I was always doing three shows on Saturdays in Utah, or teaching voice lessons, or working on some recording project for ShowTrax.  Now my Saturdays are spent at home in my comfortable apartment, at the dog park, or down by the lake.  It’s never oppressively hot.  Unless I want to for the overtime, I don’t have to go into work.  It’s just so wonderful.

To put a small damper on my weekend revelrie, however, was the commencement of a class I have been dreading since I started my MBA program:  accounting.  I don’t do math.  I can barely do arithmetic.  I don’t remember my multiplication tables.  Fortunately, I have a father who is about 9 months ahead of me in terms of the MBA program, and therefore, I have a built-in tutor.  But learning accounting from a book and websites is not particularly easy.  Terms pop up which are foreign to me, but are not defined.  How the hell am I supposed to know that TCIe means the Total Capitalized Investment of Equities…and that equities means “stocks?”  I have a degree in Musical Theatre!!!!!

In any case, I have also discovered three fantastic sites that I use when I’ve finally had far too much accounting.  Please enjoy.

http://icanhascheezburger.com

http://ihasahotdog.com

http://failblog.org

I do this at the risk of turning my blog into a horrible mishmash of flash badges (Zune, Xbox Live, and now Twitter) but I think it’s fun.  I’ll talk more about the Zune badge later (Microsoft finally did something right with that!)

http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/superpiipii.html

Make sure to check out the video too!

I’d like to write more on this (particularly the last few paragraphs) at a later date, but it’s nearly 12:45AM and I have work tomorrow, so it’ll have to wait until then.