Billy Rhythm

Amy says: I was inspired by an article in SELF magazine for this week’s MI-5.  The article was called “Create Your Happy-Life List” and this list is derived from the little workbook box in the article.  That box gave room for four answers in each of six boxes. I only used four of the boxes and added my own question to the list.  Feel free to give as many or as few answers to each question as you like.

1. Every day I would like to: (examples given were: get my heart rate up, sleep for 15 more minutes, be loving to my partner)

~I would like to spend more time in prayer. I try to have prayer time every morning, and I say grace before every meal. On and off through out the day, though, I fall short. In my job, working with customers (and frequently angry customers), I should take time to shoot up those “bullet” prayers before talking with someone. I should take a moment to get myself ready before talking to someone who’s mad, or before I need to offer words of correction to a staff person.

2. Every week, I would like to: (examples given were: cook a meal from scratch, pamper myself, spend time alone)

~Spend some really quality time with the family. By the time I get home from work, I really only have maybe three hours to spend with the kids before they need to go to bed. Factor in the nights that I leave work a little late, and the weeks that I’m gigging on the weekend, and quality time to go do something fun is really hard to come by. I should schedule family time into my week.

3. Before next year, I would like to: (examples given were: clean out my closets, take a class, track my spending, plant an herb garden)

~Own an impractical car, like a fire engine, hearse, ambulance, or convertible. Or maybe just a scooter.

4. Before I die, I would like to: (examples given were: start a business, try skydiving, go skinny-dipping, make a difference in the world)

~Visit the Holy Land, UK, and Italy. Get a Masters or Doctorate. Figure out how to get someone else to pay for aforementioned education. 🙂 Learn the basics of Hebrew and Greek. Maybe start my own drum fabrication business.

5: How likely do you think you will be to complete any of these goals? Which will be the easiest? Which will be the hardest?

~Traveling will be the easiest. There’s not much to it: get on the plane and go. Learning Hebrew and Greek has already proved a little tough, since I can’t find anyplace that teaches them locally. (The one place that teaches Hebrew–the local Synagogue, didn’t return my calls.) Starting my own business would be easy. Keeping it alive would be hard–very hard. I think the toughest one would be my Masters degree. I don’t really need it for anything. I can’t afford it. I don’t have the time to pursue it. I don’t see it happening.

Jay says: “It’s that time of year – back to school with the kids (that’ll learn ‘em to complain about being bored during summer vacation!).  Look back to your high school years & answer these questions five:”

1. Think back to the soundtrack of your high school years – what were you listening to then?
I was big into The Beatles then. Also, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. I can remember what albums I used to put on to play the drums along with: Skynyrd’s “Second Helping” and “One More From the Road,” Clapton’s “Best Of,” Peter Frampton’s “Frampton Comes Alive.” I was in a band, and we would listen to David Lee Roth’s “Eat ‘Em and Smile” all the time. Bob Marley’s “Rastaman  Vibrations” saw much play, as did James Brown’s “Gravity.” It was in high school too that I was first introduced to Tull.

2. It’s an average Thursday night– what’s on TV?
The Cosby Show, I guess. I don’t really remember the line-up.

3. What was playing at the local Bijou then?
Susan and I saw Arachniphobia in the theater. Really, in my home town, there wasn’t much happening by way of movies. The Strand had yet to be restored, and the big box movie house had yet to come to town. So if you didn’t like either of the two movies the Strand had, you had to wait until the following Thursday for two new ones. As a result, I don’t remember seeing many there. Movie rental places were all the rage then. I remember when you had to be a member before you could rent movies, and membership required money! I can remember a former girlfriend putting in reservations for “Dirty Dancing,” and having to wait for it to be returned.

4. What character from “The Breakfast Club” best described you during high school: Judd Hircsh, the brooding rebel without a cause?  Molly Ringwald’s pampered princess?  Ally Sheedy’s freak in need of a bottle of Head & Shoulders?  Emilio Estevez’s varsity jacketed jock?  Or Anthony Michael Hall’s dweeby dork?
I guess I was the dork. Not really, though. I think I was generally well liked, but I wasn’t the real popular kid. I was into music and drums, of course. (It was in high school I got the nickname “Billy Rhythm.”) I also did work in what would now be called the A/V club. We didn’t really have that back then; we had 3-4 guys who liked lights and sound.

5. Does looking back at your junior & senior high class pictures cause you to cringe, wondering why nobody stopped you from walking out into public looking like that?  Why?  Mullet?  Poodle perm?
My clothes were pretty normal, but I had some hair issues. I used to wear it way too long. It looked ok enough when short, but it didn’t stay that way for long. I used to part my hair in the middle, and did until about five years ago. Is that too ’80s?