My first trip to logans.

I am only eleven days old, and I already love steak and ribs. Just like daddy!

Might have overdone it today.

I woke up at 6:30 AM today. After getting Shayla off to school and eating breakfast, I took Brayden upstairs around 8:00 AM for his "second guitar lesson." Today we went over some material on the original G3 CD, the G3 Live in Denver CD, Steve Vai Fire Garden, and Steve Vai Mystery tracks. 1.5 hours later, I think he had had enough because he pooped his pants. lol Later today, after he's had a break, I'm going to sit him in front of the TV and let him watch Stevie Ray Vaughan's Live at the El Mocambo DVD.

In case you are wondering, I want him to be exposed to only the best when it comes to music. High Achievers. Legends. Pretty much everything I hear on the radio today is... garbage. That is why I listen to talk radio and not music on the radio. Plus, I can be informed and learn something about what's going on in the world.

All the music out today, by and large, has no appeal, because it's all so average. Nothing spectacular. This is why I want Brayden to listen to groups like Dream Theather, Rush, Genesis, Steve Vai, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Johnson, Hendrix, Clapton, Van Halen etc. They are legends and can rock your face off musically and technically. Associate with high achievers, hard workers, masters at their craft. That is an incredibly important aspect to being successful in any endevour one undertakes. I figure there is no better time to start that life lesson, than right now as he enters his 9th day of life.

In other news, I'll tell you what, this whole being off work thing is great. Play guitar for a few hours... surf the net... eat... I don't see why anyone wastes their time working at an office.

Now I'm off to finish editing a wedding reception, then take a nap.

The Secret City

Do you guys remember this PBS show?

It use to come on right before or after Reading Rainbow. I was looking around the web for this, because I remember when I was in the 3rd - 5th grade watching this show religiously. It got me into drawing. That is all I use to do when not skateboarding or chasing girls. Or, just skateboarding. T&C Baby!

Anyways, I found this on youtube (good lord, everything is on youtube!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tK70tHKhME

Good stuff!

I have the original instruction booklet somewhere, and I was looking for it tonight so when Brayden gets older, I can maybe get him interested in drawing. Ah, I love it!

A little over 1 week.

So we are going on 8 days since Brayden was born. I find it incredible that it has already been over 1-week. Things are going very well and I am adjusting to changing diapers and getting up every 3 or so hours at night for various reasons.

I've been joking around with people saying, "Now I know why Class Action doesn't want to go back to work. It's fun hanging out all day with the kids and not having to do anything." This is my second week off work and am really enjoying myself. I haven't gotten much of anything accomplished though. Sometimes I wonder about that. I am use to working 60-80 hours a week between my day job and media business. This has sort of been like the vacation I needed. Even on our 'real vacation' I was working so we could take it as a tax deduction.

Tonight I was talking to Class Action and we were discussing Great Grandparents. His kids got a chance to meet his and his wife's GGPs. That's one thing I wish so much for Brayden, that he could have gotten to meet my dad's parents and my mom's parents. They were both amazing role models for me when I was a kid, and I wish that Brayden could benefit from that exposure as he got older. Freak. I should have had kids when I was younger.

I always loved going to Grandpa and Grandma's house. One set lived in Illinois, the other in Hawaii. Talk about a climate contrast. I could always count on Grandma Root having fun games for me to play. And I mean -real- games. Not this electronic high-tech garbage we have today. But good ol' home grown games. Likewise I could always count on following Grandpa Mikami around as he worked in the garden or helping mow the yard with one of those mowers with the blades that rotated on a drum, like really old school. You had to push it! There was no gas powered engine! Oddly, I also loved going with Grandpa Mikami to the trash dump in his 1940's Army Jeep. At one point, I wanted to be a trash man when I learned they made like $50,000/year. lol

Those days were long ago. I'm glad Brayden will at least get to know his GPs. And I'll have to tell him stories about his GGPs. I wish I would have been in video/photo back in the day. All those times would have been awesome to have captured for future generations.

Sometimes I wonder how good all this technology really is for us. On the one hand it seems to make life easier. But on the other, it seems to make life more complicated. For me, I am looking to get back to simpler times.

What a difference one day makes.

On Monday August 18, 2008 at 6:49 AM, I became a father!

For the previous 9 months, in the back of my mind, I wondered ... worried... how in the world would I be a good dad. What would I do? How would I raise a son?

Funny thing is, this entire time, it was not -real- to me. The fact that I was becoming a dad was not hitting me. Well, right before I went into the delivery room, it hit me when I took a picture of myself all dressed up in the scrubs. I was like, "Holy Crap... I'm about to be a daddy."

I entered into the room with my trusty Canon GL1, with the Studio 1 XLR adapter and Sennheiser ME66/K6 combo shockmounted and my sort of trusty 12 MP Canon G9 digital camera (which I forgot to put into RAW mode, but did shoot with near max JPG quality). One of the docs said something to the effect of, "Wow this guy is serious."

As I filmed away while the docs did the C-section, I was holding her left hand with my left hand and craining the camera with my right. There were a lot of "mushy sounds" and other assorted not-the-kind-of-sounds-you want to see, coming from behind the blue drape, which I dared not peer over.

Then I heard it... the cry. I about had a come apart at that moment, but I kept on filming and was focused because I had a job to do. I could come apart later.

The nurse whisked Brayden away into the 'prep' room and then a few minutes later brought him back in for us to see.

Initially I was in a little bit of shock with the whole situation. I mean, thinking that it had finally happened... I had become a daddy was just slightly overwhelming. He was so cute.

After a quick visit he was whisked away again, and I followed him this time into the prep room where the nurse cleaned him off a bit and did a couple other things. Then they sent he and I back into our suite.

I stood there filming my new buddy just staring in amazement at this little creation. I will tell you what, after witnessing such a thing, I do not see how any one on the planet can say that there is not a God. A Creator of all things. We are not here "by chance" or from some big explosion in outer space. We are here because we are Created by a loving God who wants us to follow him and serve him.

Every single thing in my life at that point just exploded in a rush of overwhelming emotion for me. Joy. Happines. Immense feelings of love I have never ever felt before. This is my son. My son!

Over the next several days, things started becoming so clear to me. I look back on my life before Monday and see that, God has been equipping me for 32 years by blessing me with such a diverse set of talents and abilities to help me raise this child. I always wondered what in the world I would do. But the path is very clear now that the time is actually here.

I want to teach him the joys music.

I want to teach him how to play the piano and guitar.

I want to teach him to draw.

I want to help him with his homework.

I want to teach him about money, and how if you do things right, you can be set for life.

I want to teach him how to play basketball, volleyball, tennis!

I want him to be good at video games

I want to show him how to win in life!

I want to spend tons of time with him.

I really want him to be successful in any thing he wants to do, and am so blessed to have a wide variety of skills to tap into to hopefully point him in a direction that will give him a good career and track in life.

I never understood the whole family thing, until Monday morning.

This is something I would not trade for anything.

It is simply the most awesome thing ever.

Father and son.

At the hospital.

We are at Decatur general awaitig the birth of Brayden!

On the verge

It has really hit me this weekend... I am on the verge of being a daddy! We have spent the entire weekend cleaning. 5 hours of yesterday was spent with Jawana and I and my parents cleaning up the new mini-van. Then today we cleaned house most all day.

Wow... I can't believe we are having a baby!!!