A wrap up, and a little music commentary

To wrap things up from my last post, I had a very strange week while Karen was gone. It was very odd to get time to myself, day after day. I won't say that I enjoyed or, or that I didn't, it was just different. I really missed James' constant talking, and I of course missed my best pal Karen as well.

Of the things that I did that week, the most important item was that I had a chance to work a lot of things out in my mind that had been weighing on me pretty heavily. I have trouble with my job, even when things are good, it is always fairly stressful. Karen was having some trouble living out here, away from her family. Our house needed a lot of work to be marketable. I had a lot of stuff to think about and I won't say that I have all the answers, but I had the time to formulate a game plan and get things going in the right direction again.

As soon as Karen got back from her trip, we got down to business. We had several very difficult talks and got a lot of things out in the open. I found that I had been keeping a lot of things from Karen and she had been doing the same to me. The lack of communication had started to drive a wedge between us and it took a little bit of time apart for us to realize it. We are happier now than we have been in a very long time. I never give advice, but I feel confident in saying this, never let the communication stop in any relationship. I am not talking about idle chatter, I am talking about the meaningful "How are you really doing?" communication.

On to a much lighter subject:
For some reason, I seem to be geting back into music a little more lately. I listen to more albums in my car than I have in years. I have a few newer albums that I like and I listen to a little bit of my old favorites every once in a while, but I seem to be getting back into music more lately. Maybe the music is geting better or perhaps my interests are just changing? Don't get me wrong, I know that the music that I listened to while I was in high school was not the best music ever, just because I like it. although Pearl Jam's "Ten" album is a solid classic on any music critic's list.

Here are the things that I have been listening to lately, feel free to comment or make fun if you feel like it.

Panic! At the Disco - It is very catchy and fun to listen to. Not much substance, but a lot of fun to listen to.

The Killers - Catchy and a little more substance. I like it, but I can't get totally into it.

Matisyahu - Here is a good example of something I really dig. This guy has tons of talent and all of the songs are quality. It seems like most albums have "filler" in them, but his albums don't have much at all.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium is much better than the last album. I just wish they would throw in a little more of the old heavy funk that they used to play. Several filler songs on this one.

John Mayer - Probably one of my favorites, just easy to listen to for me.

Coldplay - Definitely a favorite, even if it is cliche.

More on this later, I am neglecting my wife. :)

I have a confession to make to everyone. I like running, I like it a lot. It usually makes me feel happy. The key is to go slower than the "I feel like I am on the verge of collapse" speed.

Slow to update...

Well, for those of you who know the music of Social Distortion, you will understand this. I had a Social Distortion week while Karen was in Indiana. I loaded up the MP3 player for an introspective and semi-lonely week. I swear that my MP3 player knows what I want to hear, it seems to play my favorites more often than it plays the songs I don't know well.

More on this later, we have to go get some CUSTARD!

All by myself...

I am feeling a bit lonely today, so I decided to write a bit. I doubt many will read this, since I NEVER update my blog. Karen and James are in Indiana today, but I am still at the homestead in Kansas. It's fine for her to go see her family, but I don't enjoy being lonely at all. It takes no time at all for me to get lonely. I really miss my little boy and my bride.

Recent updates on us: We have replaced all but one of the crazy interior light in our humble abode, and it looks much better. We are most of the way finished with the siding replacement job, and I am impressed with the results so far, we freaking rock. As soon as we get this thing painted, we will really be in business! We (almost entirely Karen) got the landscaping straightened out last summer and it looks 100% better. This is turning into a nice house, probably just in time to sell it...

That's all for now, I may go run for a little while before I get too tired. I am in training to run the Indianapolis half-marathon next May. I may have lost my marbles. I am planning on a sub 2:00 half marathon, and I really hope I make it. If I finish it well enough, I will probably run the LaSalle Bank Chicago marathon at the end of next summer. I really lost my marbles, apparently.

Our other website...

Karen is much less lazy than I am. She created a website all about herself, James, myself, and our current events. ---Not to mention her website actually gets updated. The site is: www.kuglers.org/~kuglerfish/john_and_karen

If you are looking for the best of my blog/website be sure to read the post entitled: subtle differences, and some funny stuff... It is probably my favorite post and it is definitely the funniest one that I wrote.