Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Day 28

This is it, the finished product of RPM’11. This was quite a different challenge from the previous ones I have completed just in the approach and outlook I took with this. It still was a challenge none the less. 
I wanted to get some music out this time around which is why I opted for an instrumental. I think the title sums up what happened this year. The sessions were my guitars, my laptop, and me. I like some of the songs, others still need to be developed and finished. This is what the RPM Challenge is though. Write and record 10 songs or 35 minutes worth of music in 28 days. These songs will change in time, although some may just stay as-is and will be used as soundtracks for other projects. 
I was lucky for the most part this year as far as technical challenges go. Only an occasional crash for not running on a separate hard drive and a bit of difficulty in set-up due to using new software. The biggest challenge this year was time and getting the physical space to complete the recording. A new goal is to secure a practice spot of my own where I can play all night and record at any time without outside interruptions. I actually think some of the recordings this year reflect those distractions.  
I can’t dwell on the negative though because I did write and record 42 minutes of new music in 28 days under adverse conditions. 
I will turn in the recording to RPM Headquarters in the morning, then stay tuned to this blog for the next few days as I post and write about the music created. Right now, it’s time for a nap. Cheers!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Ten Days In.......



Here it is day ten of the RPM Challenge. I feel behind even though I’m in decent shape. The challenge for me this time around is getting the space I need to make noise during the hours I work best. So a quick search for a practice space is happening in the midst of creating. 
The quick update.... I have 2 song ideas roughly recorded so I can refine them so they make sense. I wrote another 2 short pieces that may be able to be combined into one with some imrov sections and form development. I could also leave them be but they are quite similar. The downside of pushing out the music I guess is having things sound the same. I also wrote another chord progression and put a form to that, it just needs a melody and some life. Then there are the snippets of other pieces started. 
So really not too bad of a start with the handicap of the time and space issue. I guess it’s better than dealing with tech issues and writer’s block. This month is for the music and it will not be held back. 

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

RPM Challenge Day 2

This is sort of an odd update. It’s also sort of a flashback to RPM ’08 with all of the snow. (the photo is from that challenge) So I had to spend day 2 of the challenge running some online classes for my day job, then clearing the driveway.
Not all is lost though. Day 1 was pretty productive. I was able to do what I like to call “idea recordings”. I just let the portable recorder roll while I play and will go back later to pull the ideas to develop and make something out of them. I have at least two solid ideas going, possibly three. I think the recording I had to do for my students helped set the tone to get it all to happen. 
Now for the bad news. A new challenge popped up for me this year, that is a lack of practice space. Life challenges and changes moved me around, and with that I lost my own little music making cave. Now I find myself in my peak time to create with a house full of sleeping people and no where to work on my music. I guess my options are to just  bring everyone along and make my noise to beat this challenge, or try to find a space where I won’t disturb anyone. I’m open for any suggestions and help with this dilemma if anyone has any. 

Monday, January 31, 2011

2 1/2 hours to go.........

Yes, it has been a while. It has been a while since I posted a blog. A bit of that is because I was once told “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything”. It has been that way for a bit now. More importantly, it has been two years since I took on this challenge. 
Now, with 150 minutes before the start gun fires, I anticipate the flood of creativity that will ensue. I also anticipate the roadblocks, the technical breakdowns, and the shift of my thoughts to, “why the hell did I sign up for this?” as I enter the RPM Challenge of 2011. Stay tuned for the next 28 days as I attempt to write and record at least 35 minutes worth of music. I came though in the past, and have high hopes of beating this challenge again. 

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

A Different Sort of Journey

This week will take me to a different sort of journey than those I have been on recently. This journey is not one to move forward, but one to look back. I think that looking back may help move things forward. This weeks is my high school reunion. It is sort of fitting that it falls on the same year I received my Master’s Degree. It actually fits my cycle of a new degree every 10 years. 
I am looking forward to reconnecting with old friends. Many of these friends I have been in touch with virtually through the years but have not seen them in person for a long time. Some of them have even been a great help to me in recent trying times. 
The other part of this trip I am not looking forward too and will have to figure it out as I go. Heading back to the town where I grew up will also bring me physically closer to some people I do not want to see. So in facing the past, I may have to face a few demons along the way.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Another Post from the Father Zone: The Follow-Up




I can’t promise that this will be my last such post, but there seems to have been a stir created by my Father’s Day post a few days ago that is causing me to go back and see where my written mistakes were. If this is something you can not handle, or would just like to remain oblivious to the judicial system, the truth, and how things work in the family court of the US, then please, just stop reading. More than likely you will just look at the words and not understand anyway. 
Yes, I am angry at a broken system. I also understand that there is only so much I can do as one person. This is why I have joined up with many organizations to keep fighting.  Every situation is a bit different, yet every one seems to have the same result. Although some of my story is written in my last post (and other previous ones) I also refer to other stories from contacts and friends. I apologize to anyone who missed this. I did leave out names in respect to all of our wishes. I’m sure if you search out other postings on the day through father’s organizations, my story will be referred to in the same manner. It is what we chose to do. We may not have political power and a lot of money to change the system over night, but we can put it out in the world to make other people aware. Maybe some will even join us in our fight to bring justice into the “justice system”
Now for some specific clarifications. Divorce happens. I am not going to dwell on the why it happens. Some relationships just don’t work out. I think most people learn this when they begin making friends and dating. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out a relationship isn’t going to work out. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not. Again, every situation is different and this post isn’t about the breakdown of a marriage, it’s what happens after that breakdown. Ultimately, there are 2 people involved. I still believe fully that it takes 2 to make it work and 2 to make it fail. 
There is no such thing as a part-time parent, this is a definition made up in a court system. I think I stated this clearly in my post. I spend the time I can (and even work hard to get more) with my kids. Every father in the above mentioned organizations does this. A lot of mothers do this as well. The difference is, (again stated in the previous post) fathers make good villains. So, as an active, caring father I am looked at as “not taking responsibility” for my kids because I work in a career (or two) that does not make a whole hell a lot of money. 
To say that a mother is struggling because of a father is just plain stupid and unfair. Anyone who makes this type of statement needs to get their head out of their ass so they can actually see something. Money isn’t everything. When a mother has a career that makes more than a father, there should be an equal division. When a father wishes to spend more time and works to be regularly involved, this should be granted in all cases. (unless there is proven abuse) When a mother just choses to struggle for appearance, this too should be acknowledged by the court. When a GAL states in a report that a person needs to seek anger management, it should be ordered for the safety of all involved. 
When this same woman states she is struggling without help from a father, she too, needs to take her head out of her ass so she can see. Making a comfortable income plus gaining financial support from the father shouldn’t be too much of a struggle. Also, mothers have a wide range of assistance available to them. Try getting any of this as a father. There are also fathers who offer to take kids when they are sick so the mother can work. Offer to have them for longer time and share in getting them to school so they do not have to spend time away from parents during the day or wake up at 5am to start school at 9am. When the father shows up on agreed times to care for his children and gets turned away at the door, it’s a sign that a mother does not want this type of help. When a mother denies a father time, hides his children from him for 20+ days at a time, there is a bit of an issue there. Maybe not paying an attorney to help lie every few months in a court room would save some of that money the mother is seeking. 
Ultimately, the “justice system” we have is a theatre. The major actors get the prize. Hire the best actors and storytellers and the hard evidence in front of everyone gets thrown out. So yes, there are lots of fathers out there fighting to change this. It’s fighting for change to better the future and help our kids. People who do not understand should do some more searching and reading. It’s out there, I’m doing my part. I also need to thank those who are not directly involved in a situation for speaking up in various forums in support of this cause. If you’re too stuck in the antiquated ways of our current system, I feel bad for you. I hope you will someday learn what a fair system is and look at two sides of any situation before casting any sort of judgement or favoring one side. especially if that side is not related to you. 
Until this is realized,  I will be considered a lower life form by my daughter’s mother and by other single mothers everywhere because..........
I am a father. 

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day?

Yes, I put a question mark at the end of the title. Mrs. Chili will more than likely be the first to correct that (it’s her job, and my Master’s Degree thanks her) until she reads more.

It is no doubt Father’s Day today, this is not what I question. I do question the happy part. Today I think about being a father and it is the toughest, yet most rewarding job I have. Unfortunately, like many other fathers out there, my job as a father is seen as only  a part time one. There is no concept that I spend every day worrying about my daughters. People who are comfortably distanced from a situation do not worry about the fact that I only get to communicate with my daughters once a day at most (if their mother allows) and see them just 5 days a month 9 months out of the year. Again, this happens if their mother decides to follow a court order and not schedule things during my “parenting time”. 
My wish for this Father’s Day is not to be given a generic holiday greeting as with any other holiday. My wish is for the general population to stop and think about all of the struggling fathers today and to try and do something to help them. Ignore the minority of “dead beat dads” you read about in the papers. The media is there to tell one side of the story and dads make for good villains. (I never read in a popular newspaper about the drug using dead beat moms who still receive support even though their kids live with their father but there are plenty of cases) Reach out to community leaders, attorneys, judges, and anyone else who will listen to try and get some help. These laws and inequities must change in order for kids to have equal opportunities with 2 caring parents no matter what the relationship is between those parents. 
This father’s day, I will try and figure out how I will afford to feed my kids when I am forced by a court order to live below the national and state poverty limits because I must pay their mother most of my income. This must be paid despite the fact that my daughters live with me for half of the week through the summer. I will take an anxiety filled two hour Sunday drive to pick up my girls. Hoping that a conflict does not arise, and hoping that they will actually be there this time. I will be considered a lower life form by my daughter’s mother and by other single mothers everywhere because..........
I am a father.