What did you do today?

Finished up brewing a beer that I started on last night. Cleaned up my mess. Went out and posted signs for the candidate debate that my community club is holding. Put down some pavers around the porch, much more to be done there, though. Now we are about to head out to a drum circle.

Sorry you asked yet?

 

Well, I am back from the drum circle now, so I will tell you.

It is a gathering where people get together and play drums. Sometimes people will also play digeridoos, rattles, shakers, recorders, etc as well. Normally the players form a circle so that everyone can see everyone else. Most of the drums are hand drums, played without drumsticks, by hitting them with your hand.

Most, though not necessarily all of the drums are of an African style called djembe, pronounced gem-bay. There are also African drums called boogeraboos (not sure of the spelling), and doondoons (?spelling again). Then there are a couple of Middle Eastern styles called doombeks, and tablas. Let's not forget the good ol' bongos, congas, baliphones, and several others that I don't know the name of.

Now.... are you sorry you asked?

Drum circles can run the gamut from crazy jam sessions with everybody playing different rhythms, to very structured affairs with something akin to a director calling in certain drummers at particular times to play their individual parts. The two different ones that myself and my son go to are somewhere in between, with a rhythm being agreed upon, but everyone is free to play whatever they want that still fits with that rhythm. The one we went to tonight is a very family oriented situation, with little kids running around and such.

 

On the 18th when you asked, here is how my day went

0600 daughter #1 wakes me up because she has puked in bed, get up, clean bed, set her up on couch
0615 back to sleep
0630 son wakes me up to ask if he can play the Wii... No, go back to bed
0915 wife and I wake up to son and daughter #2 asking again about the Wii, sure, whatever, play nice
1000 breakfast for all
1100 1 mile bike ride for all, ran the entire mile leaned over helping my son ride w/ no training wheels! HE DID IT!!!
1200 showers for all
1230 head to Walmart with all 4 kids
1330 lunch
1530 laser tag for little bro in laws 13th bday (crazy awesome fun!)
1630 icecream at baskin robbins
1645 jeep will start but not run, smells like melted carpet and metal, EVERYBODY OUT!
1700 diagnose burnt ignition assy
1710 try to bypass ign with paper clip and melt glowing paper clip into finger... see pic at bottom
1715 cuss, finger in ice, throw a couple of things around the parking lot, kids sorta scared, ok, pile in all teh cars and go home
1800 get ride to autozone, $48 in ign assy and torx
1900 get jeep running again
2000 get home with dinner for me and wife, kids already ate cause i took too long.... Oh, my bad...
2100 crash in bed, kids watching TV
2200 fight with kids to go to bed becasue we have church in the AM...
??? fall asleep to be woken up by daughter #1 coughing every 6 seconds (literally) get her medicine and set up on couch again (she sleeps better there for some reason)

 

It didnt actually hurt THAT bad... I got it on ice immediately, and the only time it hurt was at home, when I took it out of the ice to put on burn gel and a bandage... after about 10 minutes it was numb again. I think i melted my nerves to avoid the pain...

 

Right now he is on his knees on a sidewalk in Bangladesh, doing emergency open heart surgery on a random peasant woman.

 

No, but her incredibly hot sister will be forever grateful. The sister's warlord husband doesn't share those sentiments.