Places to Visit in NASHVILLE

Several years ago, I started a list of all of my favorite places in Nashville. The list grows every year, and is now to the point where I can't even send it to people anymore--except by email--because it's too long. But because I keep getting requests, and I enjoy sharing my love for this city, I decided to publish it here. 

Most of these places I've been to, and some I haven't. All are in downtown or midtown Nashville, and within a few blocks or miles of each other, unless specified otherwise:

BARS

- Loser's and Winner's, on Division Street, in what's known as Midtown, a couple miles west of downtown. Loser's is a bar, and Winner's is a bar and grill; they're right next to each other. A good amount of country stars come in to these bars. Winner's hosts Whiskey Jam every Monday and Thursday night, which is a very popular music event, that I highly recommend going to. 

- Tootsie's, on Broadway and 5th Ave, right across from Bridgestone Arena. It's a famous honky tonk (it's the the purple building). If you ever see a guy named Scott Collier playing here, say hi. He's a friend of mine, as are a few other performers there. 

- Legends, on Broadway, next to Tootsies. It's right on the corner of Broadway and 5th.

- Swingin' Doors Saloon, just off Broadway, between 5th and 2nd Ave South.

- The Stage, on Broadway. Another good honky tonk, with a big neon sign. This may be one of the most popular, in terms of seeing it on TV and in music videos and stuff.

- Honky Tonk Central, on Broadway and 4th Ave South. Big three story bar, live music on every floor (that is becoming the norm for Broadway bars). Scott Collier plays here, too.

- Coyote Ugly, on 2nd Ave North, just north of Commerce Street. 

- Wildhorse Saloon, on 2nd Ave, between Broadway and Commerce. It's supposedly a bit touristy, but it's a cool place. Easily the biggest honky tonk I've seen, it's three stories, with a huge stage. Good food, a good size dance floor (pretty much the only place to dance in downtown Nashville, though don't expect it to be as good as California), and some good up and coming acts play showcases and stuff here, sometimes. 

- Tin Roof, a cool bar in midtown, on Demonbreun Street (they also have a location downtown, on Broadway). Here and Losers and Dawg House are three of the more popular bars in midtown, from what I've observed. The advantage/difference between midtown bars and downtown bars, is that midtown is more locals, and downtown is more tourists. Drinks might even be a tad cheaper in midtown, too. They have a weekly singer-songwriter night on Tuesdays at Tin Roof Demonbreun, called Revival, that I hear is really good. 

- Printers Alley, an actual alley off of Church Street, between 3rd and 4th Ave North, two blocks north of Broadway. It houses a number of bars and clubs, including one or two karaoke bars, and B.B. Kings Blues & Boogie Bar. Part of the music video for Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" was also shot here. 

- Wild Beaver Saloon, at the corner of Commerce and 3rd Ave North, one block north of Broadway. If you like karaoke bars, this is another one I've been to. 

- Dawg House Saloon, a cool and popular locals sports bar, on Demonbreun in midtown. Go here on Sunday afternoons for Sunday Funday, NFL football, and a hilariously entertaining live band called the Spazmatics. 

- Magaritaville, on Broadway, between 4th and 3rd Ave. It is probably worth going to on its own, but it is DEFINITELY worth going to on Fridays, between 3 and 7pm Nashville time, because Buzz Brainard hosts his live radio show, called Music Row Happy Hour, on SXM The Highway, which always includes audience participation and interaction and interviews, and frequently includes visits from country artists, who will do interviews and play a few songs, and even sometimes take pictures with the audience. 

-  FGL House, a brand new multi-level bar, on 3rd Ave in downtown. Pretty happening place. 

- Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, John Rich, and Kid Rock have all opened bars recently. Google them to find their location. I believe they’re all downtown, on or just off of Broadway. 

FOOD

- Jack's BBQ, on Broadway. Big light-up neon sign. Supposed to have really good BBQ. I've had it once, and it was ok. 

- Rippy's, another good BBQ place, on the corner of Broadway and 5th, across from Legends and Bridgestone Arena. They have frequent live music (as do many restaurants in town), including my friend Kaitlin Walker, who plays there on Mondays and Tuesdays, I believe. 

- The Row, another cool bar in midtown, just down the street from Loser's (on Lyle Ave; Loser's is on Division Street, which Lyle dead-ends into in front of Loser's). They appear to have a restaurant side and a bar side, but you can get food on either. The bar side has a small stage, and is a good place to watch live music in an intimate setting. 

- The Southern Steak and Oyster, on 3rd Ave South, near Demonbreun. There are several places you can go to get good southern cooking; this is one of them. Pick your time of day wisely, though, because they only offer certain menus at certain times of day. 

- Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant, at the corner of 5th Ave North and Church Street. Another good place for southern food. 

- Martin's BBQ. There are multiple locations, but the closest is probably the one on 4th Ave, a few blocks south of Broadway. Edley's is good too; I have been there once. They have multiple locations, as well - I went to their location in the 12 South neighborhood. 

- Hattie B's Hot Chicken. If you're in Nashville, you gotta try their signature hot chicken, and this is one of many places to get it. 

- Monell’s, in Germantown; and Loveless Cafe, a few miles from downtown. Both are excellent places to experience authentic southern cooking. Monell’s is particularly special, because it features family style dining (where you will share a table and meal with friendly strangers), and because it is in a beautiful and historic area of Nashville (Germantown). The restaurant is over 100 years old, is next to a Victorian garden, and the surrounding area includes beautiful Victorian architecture, over 100 types of trees, the Nashville Capitol, Bicentennial Mall State Park, and Farmers Market. And if you happen to be there in September or October, you can experience Oktoberfest. 

MUSIC VENUES

- Grand Ole Opry. About a half hour from downtown, but a must-see if you're in Nashville. They have shows at least once a week, on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Visit Opry.com for more details. They sell backstage and VIP tours, too

- Ryman Auditorium, "the mother church of country music", on 5th Ave North, between Broadway and Commerce, just down the street north of Bridgestone Arena. The Opry has shows there, too, sometimes, and they sell tours, as well.

-Bluebird Cafe, about five miles from downtown. It's a famous place for songwriters to play, you may have seen it on the show "Nashville" on ABC/CMT (that's a good way to find other places of interest, too, by the way). It's very intimate, and they take the shows very seriously. It's what is known as a listening room, which is a venue where singer-songwriters play their original material, and people actually stay quiet and listen, as opposed to a lot of other places, where the musicians are basically background music. 

- Bridge Bar, a bar inside the Renaissance Hotel, on Commerce Street, in downtown. I haven't been to it, but I know they host some cool singer-songwriter shows. 

- Listening Room Cafe, on 4th Ave South. It’s a great venue for live music, hosting singer-songwriter shows just about every day. On Mondays, they host an all-female singer-songwriter showcase, called Song Suffragettes. Song Suffragettes is a weekly showcase every MONDAY at 6pm CT, that features very talented female singers and songwriters who are trying to make it, but haven't broken through yet. 

-  Belcourt Taps, a cool, small bar & grill in midtown, that has daily singer-songwriter shows that are very intimate. 

- 12th & Porter, a larger music venue (though I've never been in it) that hosts many genres of music, not just country. Other similar venues are Exit/In, 3rd & Lindsley, The Basement, The Basement East, City Winery, Marathon Music Works, Cannery Ballroom, Limelight, Mercy Lounge, and Schermerhorn Symphony Center. 

- Whiskey Jam. I mentioned it above, but it takes place every week, usually at Winner’s Bar in midtown, and usually on Mondays and Thursdays, though there are exceptions to both the day and location. Among the recurring weekly singer-songwriter nights in midtown bars, this is perhaps the favorite among locals, and easily the most popular and famous. There are a ton of acts who have played Whiskey Jam, both before and after they became famous. 

SHOPPING

- Boot Country, on Broadway between 3rd and 4th Ave, and Nashville Cowboy, their sister store, on 2nd Ave North, between Broadway and Commerce. They both have a buy ONE, get TWO FREE (equal or lesser value) policy on boots!!!!

- The Nash Collection, on Broadway, between 2nd and 3rd Ave, on the second floor at 212 Broadway. They are a very popular Nashville-themed clothing and apparel line, which has an extensive online store, as well. Visit www.thenashcollection.com, or look them up on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.

- I’m not much of a shopper, haha, so the above is about all I got, but a few areas I’ve heard are good are The Gulch (which includes a Lucchese Boots flagship store), 12 South, Green Hills, and Opry Mills.

PARKS AND OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST

- Centennial Park, about 2.5 miles from downtown. They have a replica of the Parthenon. 

- Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, aka Bicentennial Mall. Near the State Capitol building, it has a lot of civil war and World War II history, including a museum. I haven’t been to it yet, but I hear it’s really cool. This is also where Keith Urban has headlined a New Years Eve concert the last couple years. 

- Ascend Amphitheater, on 1st Ave South, a little bit south of Demonbreun. I don't know if you'll get a chance to see inside, unless you attend a show here, or view from a distance higher on the hill, but it's a really cool new venue that opened recently. Great addition to the city for concerts and festivals. 

- Riverfront Park, at the corner of Broadway and 1st Ave. I haven't seen much of it, other than during CMA Fest, when they turn it into a music venue with a big stage on the edge of the river, but I'm sure it's a cool and pretty place to walk around and hang out anytime of year. They have a party pontoon now that floats down the river, called Pontoon Saloon! It's BYOB, and is really fun! Kinda like the pedal taverns that can be found all around town, but bigger and less work, and on water! I did it for my birthday in 2018.

- Music City Center, at the corner of 5th Ave South and Demonbreun. Not sure you'll have a reason to go in here, either, but it's basically the new convention center (the old one is a couple blocks north, at the corner of 5th and Broadway/Commerce). One of the most notable events held here, is Fan Fair X during CMA Fest, which features tons of exhibitors, artist autograph signings, and live music.

- Music Row, an area of streets in midtown, around the intersection of Demonbreun, Division, and 17th Ave South. This is where many of the recording studios and offices are located. Don't be expecting high rises or office buildings. Many of them are actually old houses, that are converted into studios and offices. 

- SiriusXM The Highway has their studio inside the tall glass cone in front of Bridgestone Arena, on the corner of Broadway and 5th Ave. I don't think it's open to the public, but it's worth knowing its location. 

- Pontoon Saloon. As mentioned above, they are a BYOB party barge that floats down the Cumberland River, with their dock being located just across the bridge from downtown, next to Nissan Stadium. They’re a great way to celebrate a birthday, bachelor/bachelorette party (Nashville is now the #1 destination for bachelorette parties in the USA, by the way), or Sunday Funday. Visit www.pontoonsaloontn.com to learn more. 

- Pedal Tavern. I haven’t done one, but these are very popular, and you’ll see them all over town. They are basically a bar on a bicycle, and you ride with a group through the streets of Nashville, drinking and singing and pedaling all the while. Visit www.nashvillepedaltavern.com to learn more. 

- I've come to accept that Nashville is all about live music, but if you do want to DANCE, one place you can go is Silverado, which is in Goodlettsville, about 20 mins from Nashville. There are others as well, from what I hear, but none in or close to downtown. I do have friends, though, who are trying to develop a dance scene, so if interested in dancing, contact me, and I will ask them about their latest/current dancing events that they have going. 

- There’s a really cool mural, located in the 12 South area, that says “I Believe In Nashville”. It’s a popular spot to stop and take photos. The whole 12 South area is another cool spot to hang out, with many restaurants and coffee shops, such as Frothy Monkey

- Even though Nashville is known for its music, it has a booming food scene, as well as arts. I've named a few good places on here, but I recommend googling to find others, because just like the bars and music venues, there's just so many!!! I've been to Nashville eight times as of September 2018, and I'm still finding and checking out new spots every time I go. 

- There are also lots of great hikes and other places to observe all the natural beauty out here. I'm not too experienced in this regard, as of yet, but there is a park only about five miles from downtown, called Edwin Warner Park, that has some cool places to hike, or you could just take a drive on one of the interstates, such as I-65, either north or south. Radnor Lake and Percy Priest Lake are also nearby. You could also walk around the campuses of Vanderbilt or Belmont University. Both are beautiful, both in terms of nature and architecture. 

- If visiting during CMA Fest week (second week of June every year), I want to give you a heads-up on the most amazing resource I’ve ever found in my five years of attending the festival: Look up “Music City Meet and Greets – Unofficial Guide to CMA Fest.” They have a Facebook page, Twitter page, website, email newsletter, and more! They are easily the most extensive resource I’ve ever found for all things CMA Week, from meet & greets and fan club parties for EVERY artist, to stage schedules, to other amazing shows and events not officially affiliated with the festival, and more! You won’t know what to do with yourself after browsing through their website, nor find any other website (including the official festival site) with anywhere close to this much info! Trust me, whether you’re a first timer, or 10 year festival veteran, everyone has something to gain from their services. www.musiccitymeetandgreets.com

Treacher Collins Retreat 2017

So this past weekend, I ventured out with my mom to my first ever retreat for Treacher Collins Syndrome (TCS), the medical condition with which I was born. It was not only my first TCS retreat, but my first TCS event of any kind. Previous to this, I had met other individuals with TCS, and--more recently--have gotten involved with some TCS Facebook groups, but had never been at a place with several other people, let alone a gathering meant to celebrate and educate about the condition. 

It was a unique and cool experience. I really wasn't sure how it would go, or what to expect. I didn't know how I would react, or what I might have to offer or gain from the experience. As it turned out, I had a pretty good time, met lots of cool people, made some new friends, learned some new information, met a great medical team, and hopefully made a positive impact on some of the other people at the retreat. 

It was interesting to observe the age range of all the people with TCS at the retreat. There were babies, young children, older children, young adults, middle aged adults; a pretty wide spectrum. I think from a pure observation standpoint, I most enjoyed watching the young children. They played and acted just like any other children, oblivious to their condition, which helps to emphasize and remind that people with TCS are really just like other people, despite their appearance. They like to play and have fun and go out just like anyone else. This was further reflected on Friday night, when I went out with a small group of people about my age, two of whom have TCS, and two of whom do not. In fact, it was actually two couples, which provides hope and inspiration and a reminder to me that I can find someone, as both couples were "mixed", i.e., a TCS person and a non-TCS person. In this case, both TCS individuals were girls, which means they found guys who were undeterred by--or perhaps even attracted to--their significant other's appearance. Seeing how guys tend to be more visually oriented than girls when it comes to attraction, that gives reason for hope for me that I can find a non-TCS girl who will love me.

While I certainly met and interacted with other people with TCS, I got the most enjoyment from interacting with the families of the TCS people. This mirrors my pattern of behavior here at home. Because while I'm able and willing to interact with others who have TCS, I'm not perfectly comfortable doing so. I find that when I'm around others with TCS, I get a little self-conscious. This happens when I'm around non-TCS people too, but when I'm around them, I feel myself comparing myself to them, determining who looks more normal and such. Obviously I keep all of this to myself and don't let it show, but that's what goes on in my head. I've always tried to view myself as normal and live my life as such, and so I think as a partial consequence of that, I feel most at ease around people without TCS, because that's what I'm used to, as well as where I feel best about myself, because I take pleasure from being surrounded and liked by attractive people (which probably says something about how I view myself, and compensation methods that I'm employing, but that's a separate topic for another post). Speaking of attractive people, there were a few of them at the retreat. Some were siblings of TCS people, some were medical staff, some were traveling nurses with the TCS kids. I definitely had my eye on a few different women there, but I've come to find out that all of them are in relationships. Bummer. Anyway, right or wrong, that's how I enjoyed my time socializing with others at the retreat (a little alcohol at the nighttime events didn't hurt, either). I should probably work on embracing my own TCS and being more comfortable around others who have it, but that's something to work on going forward; and given that this was my first wide exposure to others with TCS, I think it's understandable that I might have trouble jumping right into it.

In terms of medical information/education, I received a lot, as there were several presentations on Friday and Saturday; but most of the info kinda went over my head. Furthermore, most of it was regarding procedures that either I have already had done as a child, or that are not necessarily feasible as an adult. However, I did get to try out a couple different kinds of hearing aids, and talk to several individuals who have them, along with their families. This was very valuable, because my type of hearing aid is very outdated, so much so that the company has stopped making them. This means I will soon be forced into newer technology, and that's what I got to test out and discuss this weekend. 

Aside from all that, I also participated in a clinic day at the hospital (Cincinnati Children's Hospital, where the majority of the retreat events took place) on Monday, where I got to be seen by a whole team of doctors of varying specialties, all in one place and all completely free of charge. Most of these doctors had participated and given presentations over the weekend at the retreat, but even the ones who hadn't were so nice and friendly. It was a really cool experience to get to be seen by a whole team, all in one place, where I literally sat in a single exam room and they all came to me. It was kinda like speed dating haha (because we were short on time). I had apparently experienced a team approach when I was a child here in LA, but I was too young to remember or appreciate it. It's really cool to think that I can have a whole team of professionals working together with their respective specialties and perspectives, all coming together for a unified approach to my treatment. The purpose of speaking with all these doctors was mostly informational and speculative--as opposed to practical with the stated intent to do procedures--but nevertheless, it was a wonderful opportunity, and I'm glad we took advantage of it. If nothing else, we got to meet and talk with an incredibly friendly and pleasant team of doctors, at a beautiful and state-of-the-art medical center. 

I came into this weekend wondering if anything might come out of it that could impact my future, or lead to me choosing to be further involved with TCS going forward. It's probably too early to say, but I think if there is one area in which I'd be interested in being involved, it would be advocacy in terms of speaking to young parents with young children with TCS. At this retreat, there was a young couple my age who spoke on Friday night. They have a nine-month-old son with TCS, and they were pretty brand new to all of this. I chose to reach out to them at one point during the weekend, because I wanted to encourage them and show them what a son with TCS looks like 30 years down the road. That's the kind of thing I think I can get passionate about: Going to events and speaking to young parents, giving them hope and encouragement, using my life history and my parents' decisions as an example and an inspiration for what they have ahead of them as first-time parents of a child with TCS. Because I'm sure that having a child with TCS is very scary and overwhelming, with so much doubt and fear and uncertainty about the child's future and what decisions they should make. So if I can provide some hope and encouragement and reassurance that things can be OK, that would be a cool thing to be a part of. I suppose it remains to be seen if I will pursue something like this or if there is opportunity for it, but if there is, maybe that will be something I could be useful with. 

I want to make further mention of the fact that my mom accompanied me to this retreat. I was going to come regardless, but she ended up choosing to come with me, and I'm glad she did. She was a valuable source of information, in terms of providing information about my medical history, collecting information from the presentations and doctor visits, and being really good about engaging other parents and families with TCS children and asking questions about their experiences. In addition, her companionship was appreciated, because while I would've gotten by more or less alright if I had been on my own, I would've been the only one at the retreat without a companion with me, and that would've inevitably led to a little bit of awkwardness and periodic loneliness; so her presence was helpful. 

All in all, this trip consisted of some new experiences, and a couple steps outside my comfort zone, but I think it went well, was worthwhile, and I enjoyed myself. I may not have interacted and engaged with my fellow TCS peeps as much as I could/should have, but the fact that I was there in the first place is hopefully a victory; and while I may not have gained a ton from interacting with them, hopefully they and/or their families gained something from interacting with me. In any case, I had a good time, and wouldn't be opposed to doing it again. I made a few new friends from other parts of the country who I'll hopefully stay connected with, got introduced to several awesome doctors and an awesome medical center for future reference, and may have found a bit of a calling, or way that I would be interested in being involved in TCS advocacy. Sounds good to me! 

Random Thoughts on the Meaning of Life

So lately, I've been unhappy with some of my decisions that I've been making. I won't elaborate, but it led to me thinking to myself that despite that, life is good, and it'd be nice if I could just make good choices consistently, so that I could be living in a way that I'm proud of myself all the time, not just here and there. 

But then I sort of caught myself and realized that even if I were living that way, that's really not what life is all about. I might feel good and be somewhat happy, at least for a while, but that would still be missing the point. Many people think that if you live a good life, be a good person, provide for yourself and your family, help others, etc., you have lived a good life. I haven't done all of those things, but I'm somewhat of a "good person", and even seem to manage to inspire people by the way I live despite the medical condition I was born with (which is called Treacher Collins Syndrome, for those who don't know). 

But coming from a Christian worldview, I know that when it really comes down to it, none of that stuff matters. Don't get me wrong, all those things are good in and of themselves. But when you're talking about what life is all about—or the meaning of life, if you will—I know that the primary purpose that we are here for is to be in relationship with God. Do that, and everything else listed above will come naturally through and as a result of that. Thus, that ought to be my primary concern. 

But the devil is smart, and knows that if my time and energy is going elsewhere, he's winning. This is true even to the extent that my life could look as good as can be by the aforementioned measures—I could be the most law-abiding, moral person in the world, volunteering my time to help others, raise a family who I love, and still end up in hell. That may sound like a shock to some people, but I believe it's true. Anything we do in our lives that doesn't include being in a relationship with God or sharing Him with others, is a victory in the devil's book. He doesn't have to destroy our lives, or lead us to destroy others. All he cares about is our eternal destination—whether we spend eternity with God, or separated from God, as he is—and that is dependent upon whether or not we know God. In fact, Satan probably prefers that we are happy and successful in life by the aforementioned measures. Because as long as we are distracted/busy/preoccupied/etc with our own lives and making ourselves and/or others happy, we won't have any energy left for God.

And that's where I stand. I believe I have entered into a relationship with God, but the last several years, I've been putting all my energy into myself. My primary concern has been making myself happy, and that has been the single most influential factor in almost every decision I make. That may sound bad, but it's true. For me, I see my life as following one of two paths. Either God will be at the center of my life, or I will. If I choose the former, I believe life will work out exactly as it should. I will be happy, my life will be a blessing and benefit to others, and most importantly, God will know me. If I follow the latter, I may have some fun and do some good and seem to live a pretty successful life; but in the end, it will be a failure. Because in the big picture of eternity, this life is but a blip on the radar. Hence, what happens in it matters little to Satan, or perhaps even to God. What matters most to both of them, I believe, is whether I am in relationship with God, and leading others to Him. If I am, God gets what He wants and what He created me for. If not, Satan wins, because that's less people spending eternity with God, and more people spending eternity with Him (which, the fact that we're with him is probably beside the point; i.e., I don't think he wants to torture us for eternity, he just wants us to be like him, separated from God). 

You would think that since I realize all this, and say I believe it, that I would change and surrender my life to Christ. But as it stands now, I'm having too much fun serving myself (dancing, going to concerts, going on trips, going out, making friends, pursuing girls, pursuing whatever it is that's on my mind, etc.) that I don't have much desire or incentive to serve God. That sounds terrible to say, but that's where I'm at. And again, that's all it takes for Satan to get what he wants. Even if I'm already saved, if I'm living a life where God isn't a big part of it, I'm less inclined to share the gospel with others, and Satan will take that every day he can. We'll see what the future holds. Hopefully, I'll come to a point of surrender. That could come by a variety of methods. My hope is that it comes "gently", and not by tragedy, but that remains to be seen. God knows how the story will play out. I don't, but I do have some control over it...

Nashville/CMA Fest 2016, Day 3

Man, writing these things at 3 in the morning ain't easy....

So today was decent. It still lacked the excitement/stimulation/thrill that Monday had, but to be honest, that level is pretty hard to reach, or at least unlikely. Today consisted of live music all day at the festival Kickoff Concert featuring Sirius XM Highway Finds at the new Ascend Amphitheater, followed by a couple other shows downtown, and ended with me going out to a couple bars.

The highlights of the first part (kickoff concert) was seeing Kalie Shorr (an artist who I had recently discovered) for the first time in person, and having Clare Dunn appear to notice me in the crowd and wave to me. The highlight of the second part (downtown club/bar shows) was seeing and meeting Hailey Steele (another artist I had recently discovered) for the first time, and watching Craig Morgan and Adam Sanders in their show (as well as a couple special guests that Craig brought out). The highlight of the third part (going to bars) was meeting a couple girls, one of who recognized me from Whiskey Jam on Monday, as I had run into her there.

So that's about all I have to say about Wednesday. See you guys tomorrow...

Nashville/CMA Fest 2016, Day 2

Well, overall, today wasn't quite as exciting as yesterday, at least from a social perspective. HOWEVER,  there were still some noteworthy moments, certainly from a music perspective:

The first half of our day consisted of a lot of touring. First, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Next, RCA Studio B. And finally, the Grand Ole Opry. All three were fun and informative, and I enjoyed learning about some of the history of country music (though I had done some of those tours before, so it wasn't all new info and experience for me, whereas for my mom it was).

After that, we went to the City of Hope Celebrity Softball Game. It was fun. We had pretty good seats, and it was fun to see the artists competing and interacting with each other. 

After this, we had a bunch of dead time before we went to the Opry that night. We chose to kill it by going to Whiskey Jam at Losers, followed by dinner at The Row while watching Steel Blossoms (a female duo that I follow and had seen the previous night at the same place). 

Then it was the Opry. Our seats were amazing--easily the best seats I've ever had there. We were in the 3rd row just left of center. The music didn't disappoint either. The lineup was Darius Rucker, Jeannie Sealy, Lindsay Ell, "Whisperin'" Bill Anderson, Charles Esten, Carrie Underwood, and Chris Janson. Everyone did great, but the ones who stood out the most to me were Charles and Chris. The reason was somewhat the same--I had not seen either of them before, and was surprised and impressed by their performance. With Charles, I knew of him, but never followed the show (Nashville). With Chris, I knew his songs from the radio, but was not particularly a fan of any of them. Both were very energetic and highly enthusiastic in their interaction with the audience. But both were also great singers. Chris stood out to me the most, and "won" the night, if I had to vote. But at the same time, Carrie was flawless, Bill was funny, and Lindsay impressed me with her guitar ability. Great show overall.

After the Opry, my mom and I took an uber back to the hotel, where we dropped her off, and I continued back to downtown to try to find some more fun to end my night. I didn't end up finding much. The most notable thing that happened was that I ran into John Stone, an artist who plays Tootsies sometimes, and happened to be playing tonight. I said hi to him after he finished, and he invited me to come back the next two nights.

One other highlight from today that I want to mention, has to do with the softball game. I took some pictures and video while at the game, and posted some of them on social media. Well, one of them was a video of Cassadee Pope getting a hit. She happened to see it, and decided to retweet it with a quote of her own. This was really cool, because she doesn't do a whole lot of that. In fact, of all the times I've tagged her, I believe this is the first that she has ever responded to me in any way (including a couple pictures I posted of her from the softball game). So that was really cool. I can use that as discussion material when I meet her later this week. Plus it caused my twitter notifications to blow up for the rest of the day, which was fun.

So now it's Wednesday (was too tired to finish this post last night). Should be another day filled with live music. I also have some friends who will be arriving or otherwise available to hang out today, so let's see if I can meet up with some of them. Cheers to another great day in Nashville!

Nashville/CMA Fest 2016, Day 1

Wow....What. A. Day. This was our first day here in Music City, and what a day it turned out to be. This was my first time in Nashville in THREE YEARS, and my mom's first time ever. Needless to say, there was a lot of excitement for both of us. And man, did today live up to the hype. Forgive me for boasting, but I'm gonna give you a rundown of today's events. Can't believe it turned out so well...

We got into Nashville at about 3:30pm local time. From there we went to our hotel, checked in, and got situated. Then we went into downtown for the first time and met up with my friend Tiffany, who just moved here from California a couple months ago. We walked around for a bit, then got dinner at Puckett's. Dinner was great. I had BBQ, and there was live music, including a female singer who I took a liking to, and subsequently talked to after she finished. Her name is Nessa Survant.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to drop my mom off (she was tired after little sleep the night before), and then Tiffany and I headed to Loser's for Whiskey Jam. Whiskey Jam was awesome, as they always have a big show during CMA week (this year they have three). We didn't see the whole thing, but my favorite act was Adam Sanders. He performed some of his own songs, as well as at least one song he's written that have been recorded by other artists. The most notable, and my favorite, was "Ain't Worth the Whiskey", which he wrote with Cole Swindell and one other guy, and which Cole recorded and released as a single, and ended up going to #1. That was really cool to see.

Tiffany left after Adam finished, and I stayed a bit longer to finish my drink, and then headed to The Row to see a female duo I've been following, called Steel Blossoms. Cool story behind that....They followed me on Twitter a while back. I followed them back, and subsequently checked out their music. I took a moderate liking to them, and ended up communicating with them sporadically on Twitter. When I found out they would be performing during my time here, I messaged them and told them about it, and that eventually led to me going to see them tonight...They sounded great. The coolest part for me was the fact that they knew me by name. In fact, they said hi to me while performing on stage (in between songs) after I walked in. That was simply awesome. Then after they finished, they came up and talked to me for a bit, and ended up taking a picture with me with their own phone. I thrive off of interaction with artists, so to experience such personal interaction with these girls was thrilling. Sure, they may not be well known. But they're still professional musicians--and good ones at that--who pay enough attention to their fans/followers to know them by name, despite having never met me in person. That's awesome.

After that I went back to Loser's for a bit, because my friend Blake informed me of two friends of his--Heather and Kim--who now live in Nashville (but formerly lived in CA) and were working at Whiskey Jam tonight. I wasn't sure if they knew me or not, but as it turned out, once they saw me, they both got very excited and came over and greeted and talked to me. That was followed by a picture, and Heather asking me to two-step with her, which I did, to Jerrod Niemann, who was the final act of the event. After that, I met a guy named Rob, who recognized me from a recent concert I was at in CA. He works for a major artist (I'm gonna keep the details to myself), but he was super nice, and he and I exchanged info. Then after that I met a girl named Jordan, who was very nice, and turns out is also a singer songwriter. I may meet up with her, as well as Heather and Kim, and maybe even Rob, later in the week.

After all of this, I went over to downtown again, to Tootsie's, where my friend Scott was playing. As soon as I walk in and he sees me, he invites me up on stage with him, as is our tradition. Bear in mind, I am the last person who deserves to be up on that stage. Nevermind the fact that it is a legendary stage where so many great artists have stood and performed....I can't sing....So for me to be up there was definitely not something I deserve. On the contrary, Scott is an amazing guy; so kind, that despite my poor ability, he invites me up anyway, just to shine the spotlight on me a bit. We sang a few songs, and then I got a drink and walked around a bit (including checking out Tootsie's new third floor rooftop patio, which did not exist the last time I was here). Eventually I left and came back to my hotel, but not before Scott ended up inviting me on stage yet again to sing some more. I tell you, that guy is so generous,

So in closing, today was pretty epic, and far greater than I saw coming. If this trip continues like it did today, I might die from overstimulation haha. I guess this town loves me as much as I love it ;-)

Garth Brooks Concert Review

On Saturday, November 7th, 2015, I went to a Garth Brooks concert for the first time. It was in San Diego, at Valley View Casino Center (formerly the San Diego Sports Arena). I had never seen Garth perform live before, so this was my first exposure to him of any kind in-person. 

As you can imagine, I had high anticipation and expectations of how he would be and what I would see. After all, he’s won multiple Entertainer of the Year awards at the CMA and ACM Awards, and is widely considered an exceptional performer and entertainer—one of the best in country music history, and perhaps even all musical genres.

Well, he definitely didn't disappoint. My friend Valerie and I did have two 6’5” football players in the two rows in front of us, which limited our view and allowed me to see Garth only about half the time, but aside from that, the concert was awesome.

The most notable element of the show, which made it and his performance stand out the most, was the energy. I’ve been to a lot of shows, and seen almost every famous live act in country music, including possibly all of the nominees for Entertainer of the Year at the CMAs and ACMs in the last five or 10 years, and I have never seen anything quite like this. Garth Brooks had more consistent and nonstop energy and enthusiasm than anyone I’ve ever seen. And don’t worry, he only played for two hours, this being the third show in as many nights, with another one coming up the next night, AND one more THIS SAME NIGHT AFTER MY SHOW!! It’s not like he needed to conserve himself or anything…

Seriously, it was very impressive. And it wasn’t just him either. I’ve never witnessed an audience so loud and consistently electric. Everyone in that building was cheering during every song, knew all the words, and stood almost the entire time, even though they all had seats. Obviously it helps that he has so many well-known songs and hits (he is one of the most successful artists in music history), and that he is touring for the first time in 15 years and was visiting San Diego for the first time in 19 years. But all of that notwithstanding, it was an audience response that was exceptional.

And to his credit, he encouraged it and took advantage of it. Audience interaction and involvement, at least in my opinion, is a key element to what makes any artist a great live act and entertainer. Garth did plenty of that. He let us sing choruses, sing verses, held a cheering competition between sections, and yelled and cheered during every other song, further energizing us, which in turn further energized him. He even pointed it out early in the show, saying that he had to do so many shows in so few nights, so we would have to carry him. And carry him we gladly did.

Another thing I loved about him was his song choice. Though he left a few out that I would’ve liked to see (“If Tomorrow Never Comes”, and “Beaches of Cheyenne”, to name two), he was smart in that he stuck almost completely to his old stuff. In fact, he only played ONE song off his current album (in comparison to which everything else is “old”, since this is his first studio album of all-new material in almost 15 years). And he knew what he was doing—he stated early in the show that when he goes to shows, he goes for the old stuff. 

Adding to the uniqueness of the show was his band and crew. He thanked his crew member (John was his name) every time he handed him a guitar between songs. And among his band (background singers included; and he introduced everyone extensively), every single member has been with him for 20+ years (one of the funny moments of the show was when he introduced “the rookie” of the band, who has been with him for 21 years I believe). That’s astounding. Granted he took the last 15 years off of touring, so assuming he wasn’t omitting those years, that statistic is a little skewed. But at the same time, the fact they they would all come back and tour with him again after all that time away is surprising and impressive. Another cool moment was when his wife Trisha Yearwood introduced one of his background singers, who she said was a songwriter as well. Trisha performed one of her songs, and had her come out and sing part of it center-stage by herself. She (the background singer) was clearly very appreciative, and it was a really cool moment to watch. 

In closing, I want to mention that Garth and his team market his shows as “The Garth Experience”. Prior to the show, I figured that was just a creative and more-or-less meaningless slogan. But after seeing his show, I can attest that it is definitely an accurate expression and description. It was unlike any show I’ve ever been to. Unbridled and consistent enthusiasm from both Garth and the fans for two hours. I don’t know how much of what he does is an act or is scripted, but however much of it is or isn’t genuine almost doesn’t matter. I mean I hope it’s genuine, and I wouldn’t want to see exactly the same show the next time I see him, but regardless, he gets that energy and enthusiasm from somewhere (I don’t know where), and I believe he truly enjoys it (at one point in the show he said something to the effect of being very happy and thankful that he got to do this earlier in his career, and now again 15 years later). So even if some of what he does is a bit scripted or manipulative in order to get the crowd into the show, it’s almost like who cares? His job is to perform and entertain, and he clearly does that. 

The Inspiration Issue

I inspire people. I've heard it all my life. I've heard it in playing sports, I've heard it in dancing, and I've probably heard it at other times and places as well. I've had multiple pieces done on me in newspaper and television when I was growing up talking about how I was an inspiration because I was playing sports. But I'm not trying to inspire anyone. I'm just living my life and doing what I like to do, and for some reason people seem to find that inspiring.

Ok, I get it. People see me and realize I look different. They assume I've had a difficult life, and either know or assume that I have an extensive medical history. They see how I've "overcome" all these "obstacles" and "challenges" and live a normal life "despite" them.

I put those words in quotes for a reason. You see, I don't view my life as all that difficult, and I don't view my medical history as challenges or obstacles. My life is what it is and it's all I know. I mean I do owe praise to God for a positive attitude, and to my parents for putting me in a somewhat sheltered environment (Christian school kindergarten through high school) where I experienced pretty much no bullying and was fortunate enough to always have friends. But otherwise, my life is what it is. I had a different level of consciousness and awareness as a child than I do now as an adult. If I were going through all this medical stuff now, I think I would view it differently than I did experiencing it as a child. I would probably consider living a normal life after that to be more inspirational than doing it the way I have.

Allow me to take a moment to give those of you who don't know (which is most of you) a brief explanation of my medical history. I was born with a thing called Treacher Collins Syndrome. This is a syndrome (or condition, to use a more common word) that results in underdevelopment in the facial area. For example, two noticeable areas of underdevelopment on me are my ears, which are significantly underdeveloped and lack an outer ear canal, and for which I wear bone-conductive hearing aids, and my cheeks, which lack bones, and for which I have an implant on my right side (we tried the left too, but it didn't work out very well). The white thing around my neck is called a tracheostomy tube, or trach for short (pronounced "trake"). It's a device through which I breathe. I have a hole in my neck, and the tube of the trach goes in the hole and down my throat a bit. It's purpose is simply an additional airway, because for all intents and purposes I can't breathe through my nose, and as a child I was not getting enough air through breathing through my mouth alone. Nowadays I'm able to get sufficient air through my mouth alone, and generally keep a cap on the trach and do not use it except at night when I use it to get extra air for higher quality sleep.

I've had dozens of surgeries growing up to try to improve both appearance and functionality in my facial area. I haven't had any since I was 17 or 18, and don't plan on having any more in the future (primarily because the insurance ended when I turned either 18 or 21). My condition is purely physical, with no mental effects at all. This is very important to me for people to understand, because I hate it when people assume there's any kind of mental impairment, though I can't blame them, especially with my speech not being clear. Another thing I hate, or dislike, is for people to use the term disability or deformity in reference to me and my condition. I have no disability as far as I'm concerned, and the word deformity is a disgusting word that really rubs me the wrong way, at least in reference to myself.

All I'm trying to do is live a normal life, and all I want is to be viewed and treated normally. Please DO NOT give me special treatment or befriend me or act toward me out of pity, charity, or sympathy. I am only interested in people who are genuinely interested in me regardless of my physical appearance. If I suspect you're acting out of the aforementioned motives, I may actually resent you, or at least lose a little respect or favor for you, because I pretty much resent and detest the idea of people acting out of those motives toward me. Their motives may be good, and I can't really blame them and am kind of a hypocrite because I do the same thing, but nevertheless, I hate it being done to me, so please don't.

So if people want to view me as an inspiration, that's ok I guess. I can't control what people think, but remember, I'm not really trying to be an inspiration. Maybe I should embrace that a little more, but as of right now, I'm just trying to live my life like anyone else, just doing what I want to do, and only be an inspiration in the same ways anyone else could be, such as pursuing things that I love to do, and not because of my physical appearance and medical story.

My Last 30 Years

Sooo, I've been alive for three decades. That's a long time! As they say, it definitely goes by fast. I can't say it feels like yesterday that I was in high school or college, but it doesn't feel like my 29th birthday was that long ago, either.

I've experienced a lot over my first 30 years of life. In some ways I've experienced more than most, in some ways less, and in some ways about average. My first 10 years of life were pretty eventful, with lots of medical history, between surgeries and doctor appointments, which extended into my teens. This certainly made for a unique and sometimes challenging childhood, but thankfully it was a very happy one, as I was blessed with a positive outlook, and surrounded by a loving and positive environment of lots of caring family and friends. I made my first friends in kindergarten, and we're still friends today.

My middle ten years were fairly happy as well. They saw me go from middle school into high school and then to college. Things got a bit more challenging socially during these years. I still had plenty of friends, at least through high school, but I started to become more self conscious about my appearance, and also had a desire to be part of the popular crowd, which I sometimes felt difficult to fit in with, as I am not a pure extrovert, and tend to be kind of quiet in group settings. My self consciousness hit a high point in college. This was because, though I was at a Christian school (which was also the case previously, kindergarten through high school), I was now at a place where I knew almost nobody, and had to make new friends. This was an exciting challenge which I was very much looking forward to going into college, but it took a little longer than I hoped. I made many acquaintances during my freshman and sophomore years, and got along with my various roommates fine, but it wasn't until my junior year that I found friends (and roommates) who I really connected with and became close friends with. I am thankful that I found them; they are some really good people, and we are still friends today.

In addition to the usual routine of school and friends, my childhood also included an active sports lifestyle. This started with baseball at age six, which lasted a couple years, until I quit. Then at age nine, I took up hockey. I played hockey (roller and ice) consistently until about age 17, when I sort of phased out physically. While still playing hockey, I also took up golf, starting at age 12 or 13, and played consistently through high school, where I played for my school all four years. My last 10 years have not been as eventful athletically, as I played some intramural sports in college, and a couple hockey and golf leagues outside of school, but that's about it. The latter half of my last 10 years have introduced me to a new "sport", though, in the form of dancing.

I found dancing (country dancing, to be specific) about five years ago. I had already been into country music for a few years, and eventually I decided to check out country bars. It started out slow, and I didn't learn any dances until a while after I started, but eventually I got hooked on it, and started learning, and haven't looked back since. I added more country bars and more dances and more friends, and it eventually comprised my entire social life. I'm not quite as active or passionate now as at times in the past, but I still do it and enjoy it, and am open to continuing to learn new moves and dances, including different styles of dance other than country.

Speaking of country music, an interesting sidebar is that my life has included a variety of musical tastes thus far. It's seen everything (in rough chronological order) from pop (Mariah Carey, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, Backstreet Boys, N*Sync), to "punk rock" (Blink 182, Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Yellow Card), to Switchfoot, to my current interest in country music. Also interesting is that I've observed that with both music and sports/hobbies/interests, I tend to be really passionate and involved in one for a certain amount of time, and then I stop and move onto something else. Usually this time period is a few years. I suppose this is both a good and bad thing, since it means that I will be a very avid fan or participant in whatever I'm currently interested in and will go at it full-force and try to master it, but that my interest may wane over time, and I might eventually stop and move onto something else. Currently I'm at 4+ years of dancing, and 7+ years of country music, and I don't plan on quitting either anytime soon!

In addition to music and dancing. my most recent decade has seen some other transitions. I graduated from college, lived in two other states, and progressed in what is now my current job. My out-of-state  residencies were both short-lived, one for a predetermined 10 weeks in Colorado as part of a summer program, and the other for what ended up being five and a half months in Idaho. With the latter, I could have stayed longer, but I lost my job a couple months in, and made the difficult decision to move home instead of stay and find another job. What made the decision so difficult wasn't so much the job situation, but other factors, such as it being a beautiful place with a winter climate that I love. That climate is why I moved there in the first place. I'd love to go back there again to visit, and maybe someday to live. But for now, I live here in Southern California, where I enjoy working in my current job involved in a couple of my family's businesses.

As is common after college, my life has settled down into a fairly regular routine. It consists of work and fun with friends, which for me is dancing. In some ways it appears I'm a bit behind when it comes to milestones or progress, as almost all of my longtime close friends are married with kids and financially independent, and I am not. This could be viewed as a shortcoming on my part, but I'm working my way toward financial independence, and have goals and plans. As for the marriage and kids, I certainly desire to get there someday too, but that part is a little more out of my hands. I've pursued a few girls over the last few years, arguably for the first time in my life, and while I haven't had any amount to a romantic relationship yet, I'm hopeful that I will find one someday. It is a bit saddening to me at times that my friends are so far ahead of me in the stages of life, and I allow it to create a bit of a distance between us and reason not to spend a lot of time with them, as they are doing their own thing, and have different interests/schedules/commitments than me. But it is what it is, and they are still very cherished and valuable friends. Because not only are they still great people, and caring for me as ever, but now they also have valuable experience and wisdom in terms of life and love.

Overall, I can't really complain about where my life is at, 30 years in. I have more than I need, and lots of great, caring, loving people around me. Do I wish certain things were a little different? Yes. And am I completely happy? No. Can I be a better person and do I have areas I need to improve? Yes. But life is what you make of it, and it's a journey for all of us (that sounds really cliché). So as I begin year number 31, I guess I just need to continue to set goals and plans and try to accomplish them, and try to take things one step at a time, and not worry about what I can't control. Before I know it, I'll probably be celebrating another 30 years! Let's hope they're good, and that I experience self-improvement and progress, and make decisions that promote happiness.

A Look Back at 2012

Looking at the big picture, 2012 has been a good year. I certainly ought not complain. In terms of the basic necessities and things that matter most in life, it's been all good. I've had my health, have lost no family or close friends, had shelter, clothing, food, and a job. I've pursued my passions and had a lot of fun and made lots of new friends doing so. By and large, 2012 has been perhaps one of the best years in recent memory for me.

Early 2012 featured an annual trip with some friends to Bass Lake, CA to visit some other friends of ours who live up there. It was a fun trip as always. We traveled into Yosemite National Park, went hiking, and had a good time. 

Spring of 2012 also included a few concerts, namely Lady Antebellum, Gloriana, and Dierks Bentley. All were good. For Lady A and Gloriana, I was right up next to the stage (for Lady A I was actually IN the stage because of the cool stage setup they had where a small number of fans could buy tickets for an in-stage pit area called the "Inner Circle"), which is always fun. 

Then at the end of April was Stagecoach. It was a hell of a good time. This was the third year in a row that I've gone to the festival, and it was was by far the best. The lineup was incredible, I ran into probably about 75 people I knew, I got to drink all day and dance all night after the concert. It was amazing. 

Middle 2012 was a pretty good time as well. I traveled to Nashville for the second year in a row for CMA Music Fest in June. Like Stagecoach, this was also the best time I've ever had there. 2011 was amazing and certainly unforgettable as well, but this trip was arguably better, for completely different reasons. 2011 was my first-ever trip to Nashville and CMA Fest. So as a die-hard country music fan and enthusiast, this was an incredible experience, since Nashville is the mecca of country music, and CMA Fest is, as it is marketed and which I would find to be true, "the ultimate country music fan experience", and the biggest and best country music festival in the world. I visited everywhere I could and experienced several of the significant sites and venues in the city, and saw a whole lot of live music and met a bunch of country artists, including big stars such as Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean. 

But 2012 was, like I said, a completely different experience. The reason why this was the case is that, in addition to the fact that I had been there before and seen lots of things already, I got to experience this trip with a group of people. Both times that I've gone to Nashville, I've gone alone. But on this trip I happened to meet some people on my second or third night in town, and that changed everything. They invited me to hang out with them the rest of the night, and that ended up continuing for the remainder of the trip. Every day they invited and welcomed me to hang out with them. They introduced me to all their friends (some of whom live in Nashville; they themselves are mostly from New Jersey), and for the remainder of the trip I had a go-to group of people and a community to hang out with and be a part of. Instead of doing everything alone, I was with people. This was an incredible experience. Because although I'm used to and willing to do concerts and trips like this alone (because of my passion for the music), it's a lot more fun doing it with people. In fact, I enjoyed hanging out with them so much that I sold my ticket for the last three (out of four) nights of the main concerts at the festival, simply because I enjoyed hanging out with them more and and didn't want to miss out on any of it. These people were so kind to me, and introduced me to so many people, who were also so kind to me, and I can never repay them or thank them enough. My network of Nashville acquaintances and contacts has grown exponentially because of them, and I will never forget the amazing time I had with them. I have since kept in touch with them and have gotten to see them once since this trip, when I went and visited them in New Jersey in September. I plan on seeing them again soon, this next summer in Nashville if not sooner.

Summer 2012 also featured my first ever trip to the river. I went with some friends from my hometown area. It was just a weekend trip, but nevertheless was a lot of fun. We went on a group float down the river for a few hours, and hung out at night at the motel pool and the casino. It was a lot of fun, and I hope to go back to the river some more this next year, with them and anyone else that wants to invite me. 

Then came the Fall of 2012. Three notable events from this time of the year were my birthday (28th), and celebrations for my 50th and 100th nights of dancing in a row. That's right, in a row. I managed to string together what ended up being 102 consecutive nights of dancing. Not every night was at an actual country bar or dance facility (I think those comprised 93 of the 102 nights), but every day or night for 102 days I managed to do at least a partial-song's worth of a line dance or two step. The celebrations for all three of these occasions (50th, 100th, and my birthday) were at some of my favorite country bars. I invited lots of people, many of whom showed up, and had a great time. 

Now we're into the Winter, and the end, of 2012, and the beginning of 2013. My Thanksgiving and Christmas were good, both the usual tradition of gathering with family. New Year's was a fun time last night, as I spent it with a friend and a bunch of other friends, celebrating the one friend's birthday (which was yesterday) and New Years combined. As for today (New Years Day), I don't have much planned, just working and maybe going dancing or bowling tonight. However I may also stop by my brother's house this afternoon to watch some of the Orange Bowl college football game, which is part of an annual tradition (he has people over every New Years Day to watch the football games).

All told, 2012 has been a lot of fun, and free from any major problems. I got to pursue my primary passions in life of country music and dancing, going to several concerts and two music festivals, and dancing almost every night of the week. I've gotten better at dancing, made a few new dance partners, found a great new country bar in The Ranch in Anaheim (which opened in December 2011), and am still enjoying myself about as much as ever with all of it. 

Transitioning and looking ahead into 2013, my life will probably continue to be much the same as it was in 2012, as far as my plans are concerned (obviously you never know what could happen that is unforeseen or out of your control). But there are a few things I might like to change. Let me address this by giving a little recap of where things are in certain area of my life, and where I would like to see those things go in 2013.

Professionally, I'm in decent shape. I co-own one of my family's businesses, and that's going well. Looking forward, it would be good for me to move forward in my career, either with this business, or with songwriting, or both, or something else. But it's time that I start being a little more proactive with this, rather than being complacent and not trying very hard to progress or move forward, which I've been guilty of in the recent past. 

Socially, I'm arguably a bit out of balance. My social life literally consists entirely of dancing and the friends who I have from there. I'm somewhat okay with this, as dancing is one of my biggest passions and I'm still enjoying it about as much as ever. But at the same time, I realize that I am probably neglecting my close, longtime friends from home a little bit, and should spend more time with them. They may be married and have their own lives and different interests and such, but still, I ought to make more of an effort to spend time with them than I have been recently. I should also probably look into broadening my hobbies and activities, or at least my social circles. Dancing is great for meeting people, and there's lots of really cool people there, many of whom share my interests in country music and dancing; but while all of that is great, it might not hurt for me to look elsewhere also, such as a bowling league, softball league, or church, especially considering that the places I go dancing are not close to me, and hence, neither are the places where most of my dancing friends live, which is a natural obstacle for friendships. Despite this obstacle, however, I would also probably be best to try to develop some of my dancing relationships, and become closer friends with some of them and hang out with them outside of the country scene. Part of the reason for my lack of closeness with them is that I tend to be a wanderer or mingler at the country bars, hanging out with several people or groups of people throughout the night, rather than sticking to one group. While I enjoy this, it doesn't help with developing friendships and close-knit community, so I might want to consider changing that behavior as well. 

Speaking of church, my spiritual life is in a perhaps interesting place right now. It's not very active, which would appear to be a bad thing, yet I don't really have a problem with it. For those of you who don't know, I've been a Christian for most of my life, with my church attendance, and my effort toward my personal relationship with God (and, I feel consequently, my closeness with Him) fluctuating up and down throughout my life. Lately both my church attendance and my effort toward my relationship with God have been minimal-to-non-existent. I've basically been content living my life the way I want to live it and doing what I want to do, and have not really consulted God about any of it. While my life has had many negative and unhappy moments, and while I may be far from being as content and fulfilled and happy as I maybe could be, I still do not feel a great need or desire to change what I'm doing. My life is largely a happy one, and though it is predicated or dependent on things that maybe it shouldn't be (namely, looking forward to events in the near future like a fun night of dancing or a concert, or a maybe a love interest if I have one at a given point in time), I am not yet to a point where I feel I want to turn to God and look to Him for my happiness, contentment, fulfillment, and peace in my life. But this may be about to change somewhat. I'm considering checking out church again on Sunday nights (for the aforementioned social reasons if nothing else), so we'll see where that goes. 

Personally, my life is in decent or okay shape. I still have close friends, albeit with perhaps a slight barrier present, in that literally just about all of them are married. I have tons of acquaintances through dancing. This feels great, because I know somebody wherever I go and people are always saying hi to me and such, which makes me feel popular and wanted, which is nice. However as I said earlier, not many of those relationships are developed very far past the acquaintance level, which is by my own doing and lack of willingness to commit to a single group of friends. This leaves me occasionally feeling lonely or bored, even while I'm at the country bars. A bigger source of loneliness, however, comes from my love life. I'm currently in a spot where my love life holds a primary focus in my mind, in that I tend to allow it to have heavy influence on much of my emotions and my happiness. I know this should not be the case, and that I need to put my main focus and find my happiness from other sources and let love take care of itself and happen in it's own time. I'm just a little tired of waiting, as I have yet to have my first girlfriend or even my first official date. I'd love for 2013 to bring me success in my love life, but I know I just need to be patient and confident, and the success will come sooner or later.

As far as resolutions go for the New Year, I actually made a list with as many as 10 resolutions. I was planning on sharing them by way of a blog post, but after a friend advised me that it would be very unlikely that I would keep all of them, I'm going to choose to officially state only one: to improve my punctuality. If you know me, you know I stink at punctuality and timeliness. I'm last minute or late to literally almost everything. So over the next year, I'm going to try to improve with that. I'm not saying I'll get rid of it completely. But if I improve, I'll consider that a victory. 

Well, there's my recap of 2012 along with an outlook into 2013. Hope y'all have had a good year; here's to what will hopefully be another and perhaps even better one!

Winter: My Favorite Season of the Year

For most people, summer is their favorite time or season of the year. Hot days, warm nights. No need for much clothing. Spending the day outside, whether at the beach, lake, river, or elsewhere. School is out. Lots of events are happening outdoors at night. Vacations and trips. Summer is quite the enjoyable time of year.

But for me, my favorite season would have to be winter, at least when it comes to weather. I agree, summer, weatherwise and otherwise, is a great time of year. But for me there's nothing more beautiful than a winter landscape, especially one that includes mountains, with fresh white snow against a clear blue sky. 

If you know me, you know I have a fascination or strong fondness for cold and snow. This is the simplest reason why I love winter. Cold temperatures, below freezing, subzero, I love it. Snow, lots of it, everywhere, almost every day, I love it. So give me a place where both of these exist during the winter, and I want to go there. 

I also love winter recreation. Skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice fishing, ice climbing, dogsledding, snowmobiling, I love it all. I have not done all of these activities, but I've done five of them, and would love to do the other two. This is part of the reason why I love winter locales that have mountains. The other is that I just think mountains with snow on them are beautiful. 

Now I don't like rain. Rain is certainly part of winter, but for me, it's just a nuisance. It's not all that pretty, you can't really do any kind of winter activity with it, it's just gloomy and wet and I don't really like it. Unfortunately that's all we have here in southern California, and I'm glad to say that we don't usually have to deal with that much of it. This is bad for solving our drought, but good for keeping me happy haha. I could never live in a place like Seattle, where it's pretty much all rain, pretty much every day, all winter long. 

But give me a place where it's snow, and snows a lot, and snow is on the ground and temperatures are at or below freezing pretty much all winter long, and I'm a happy man. And thankfully, I found and have lived in such a place. This place is a town by the name of Driggs in southeast Idaho. I have already written and published a separate post about this place and why I love it so much, so I won't go in depth here, but that town and the surrounding area is one of the most beautiful, iconic, scenic winter locations have ever seen, at least in person. The town lies in an alpine valley at an elevation of about 6,000 feet, and it has everything I want. Snow, cold temps, mountains, winter recreation activities, everything. The snow is light and dry, which makes it easier to brush off and doesn't get you as wet (compared to snow in other parts of the country), and is a ton of fun to ski or snowboard through. I only lived there for one winter, and then chose to move home (though it wasn't an easy decision and wasn't because of the weather), but I completely intend to go back there someday, if not to live then at least to visit.

So, on this first official day of winter, I'm excited for another season of seeing cold temperatures and snowy landscapes. I don't know how much of these things I will see in person, but if nothing else, I will  enjoy viewing them in pictures and videos. If you're like me and love winter, great, we should talk. If you don't, hopefully you live somewhere like I do here in southern California.

Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me

And the sun is shining
And this road keeps winding
Through the prettiest country
From Georgia to Tennessee
I got the one I love beside me
My troubles behind me
I'm alive and I'm free
Who wouldn't want to be me

This is the chorus of Keith Urban's song "Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me"

This happens to be one of my favorite songs by Keith Urban, but the reason I'm quoting it is because right now, I'd say it applies to my life.

Life is good right now for me. My health is good, I have a job, I have family and friends who love me, I have a date this weekend, I get to do what I love every night with dancing and concerts; I can't complain.

But one area in particular has been especially exciting to me lately. That would be my dancing, specifically two step. This is because I am in a place where I seem to be desired by several girls as a dance partner, some of them even to the point where I'm their favorite or primary dance partner. I even have two friends right now (girls) whose profile picture on Facebook is me dancing with them (one of them is my primary dance partner, who I also have in my profile picture). I have girls tagging and sharing photos of me and them dancing together, asking me to dance, and telling me they love dancing with me and that I'm one of their favorite partners. And these aren't just any girls. These are some of the best dancers and most attractive girls I know. Needless to say, as a guy and as a dancer, this is thrilling to me. I just love the idea that these girls want to dance with ME.

I mean, let's analyze this a bit. I'm not the most attractive guy at the bar. I'm not six feet tall and 175 pounds, with model-good looks. So, while I know I'm not the best dancer at the place, the reason these girls are wanting to dance with me has to be because of my dancing style and ability (and maybe a little of my nice personality). And to think that they want to dance with me despite the fact that they may not necessarily find me physically attractive (or even be taller than them) makes me feel good, and gives me a good amount of confidence (more on that in a bit). It also says a lot about the character of the girls I'm dancing with.

Alright, time for a disclaimer. While it is thrills the heck out of me that I seem to be so desired as a dance partner, particularly by some of the best dancers I know and most attractive girls I know, I don't mean to sound arrogant, cocky, or full of myself. While I love being desired, and love all the compliments I get about my dancing (both two step and line dance), I keep my feet on the ground and don't let it get to my head.  While I may try to show off a bit (particularly with line dancing), for the most part I'm just going out and doing what I love and having a good time. I'm also a competitive person, and I look at dancing as a sport, so I'm constantly trying to practice out there and get better and execute my moves as best as I can.

Additionally, these girls who I'm dancing with are not just random girls or people I meet once or twice and never see again. They're my friends. They may be great dancers and they may be attractive, but they're also very nice. They're fun to interact with, I see them more-or-less all the time, some of them I've known for a year or longer.

Also, I know I'm not the best dancer at these places (either two step or line dance). I have friends who are certainly better than me. And while I may have a few girls who consider me their favorite or primary dance partner, I know that for most of the girls I dance with, I'm one of several dance partners they have, and that they probably don't prefer me over anyone else.

Also, sort of a side note, it's taken a long time for me to get to this point. I've been dancing every week for almost two and a half years now, and it's only probably within the last year or so that I've gotten to the point where I've had what I would call a semi-established dance partner. Part of that was because I was afraid to ask and was probably less proactive about asking girls to dance, period, in the first year or so, and also because I've met more and more girls as time has gone on (both in general and girls who I've found to be really good dancers). But it's also because it takes time to get better, and to get to the level (or close to it) of the best dancers at these places, and to be able to lead well and teach the moves to girls who don't already know them. I dance all the time, hence I'm consistently getting better. I guess that adds up and pays off, because I'm probably better now than I've ever been, which (combined with how many girls I've met and danced with) maybe explains the number of girls who want to dance with me and the number of girls I have that I consider quality dance partners.

I should also mention that I owe a lot to a few friends of mine who have taught me most of the moves I do during two step. I've taken several lessons and received help and tips and instruction from several people, but the three people I feel that I owe the most gratitude to are my friends Donny, Savannah, and Alina. Donny is one of the best male dancers I know, and Savannah and Alina, who dance with Donny often, are two of the best female dancers I know. While I did not learn the basic two step from them (I learned that most recently from a lady by the name of Candy, thank you Candy!), they taught me a style of dance called country swing. This is the style of dance I do during two step, and almost all the moves I do are ones I learned from them. So big thanks to all three of them!

Lastly, as I alluded to earlier, one really nice benefit of all the positive attention I'm getting for my dancing (both two step and line dance) is the confidence it gives me. The fact that I get to dance with and am desired as a dance partner by so many attractive girls gives me confidence as a man, which is great and helpful, cause the fact of the matter is, I struggle sometimes with self-consciousness and even maybe a bit with self-esteem because of my looks. So to think that I have these beautiful girls that enjoy dancing with me helps me out a bit in that respect. It may just be dancing and not dating, but nevertheless, it gives me confidence (and who knows, maybe that success will carry over into dating too). And the fact that I get complimented so often on my dancing gives me confidence in general, which, right or wrong, has resulted in me priding myself on my dancing ability.

So, when it comes to my dancing life (and my life in general), life is good right now. I'm confident and happy, looking forward to the next great night of dancing (and even the prospect of dating). Maybe I'm not the best dancer, and maybe I'm making this dance-partner-desiredness thing into more than it really is, but nevertheless, it's fun to be wanted :-)