Aaron Riveroll | Photographer

Well, friends … here I am again. This has become a little tradition; the daily moving recap. You would think that we were trying to make a career out of this whole moving thing, but I assure you we are not. Although, it has given a blogging topic. Pretty soon, our moving will be as interesting as Celebrity Poker or The Surreal Life. I do have to say that besides the bruises and other obvious bodily injuries, my biceps are feeling much bigger. I was thinking how maybe I could make moving an everyday thing. Brian and I have considered expanding our enterprise with some sort of moving services. I can see it now: NGS Movers.

Nah, I think we will stick to our day jobs. I hate moving anyway.

I’m just about out of my old place … maybe about 97% of the way out. Tomorrow, I go to pickup some of the last things and tidy up a bit … then I get to start the fun task of organizing the new place. Currently, it looks as if I tossed all my possessions into a big, humongous box, shook it around a bit like a cup full of Yahtzee dice, and then carelessly dumped the contents all over the apartment. And if you know me, you have to know that it is bugging me. It will be nice once everything is in its place.

Can I reiterate how awesome this new place is? You’ll have to stop by if you’re in the area … it is like a palace for renters. Compared to my old living quarters, moving in is a breeze since I have room to move stuff around. Before, it was like taking a stuffed sardine tin and trying to move the a little fishies around. Eventually, everything just gets smushed and starts to stink. Not a good experience.

I think I am the perfect person to become an advocate against materialism. I am turning over a new leaf. I used to think that it was cool to have stuff. I admit, I have a lot of cool stuff. My version of “bling bling,” if you will. But dude, if you make me move any of this crap any time soon, I think I’m going to go insane. And then I’m going to pick up one of my really cool things and throw it at your head.

So yes, I’m giving up my lust for material things. Well, maybe after I get my new iPod. :)

Well, I promised myself that I was going to go to bed at a decent hour today, so must keep that promise to myself. Nothing is worse than disappointing yourself; letting yourself down, if you will. And besides, I don’t promise myself that many things, so it’s the least I can do. Don’t worry, you’ll probably hear more about our moving adventures tomorrow … and am sure I’ll have some wise, witty, contemplative, reflective remarks about 2005 in the last remaining days of the year. So, good night for now.

Well people, it’s day two of the Moving Saga. I have to admit that things went well today. We got a U-Haul and moved about a ton of stuff, and my big TV. All was successful. I am so sore. And bruised, apparently. I just noticed a big purple mark on my forearm the size of Texas. And the shape of Montana.

We just finished rearranging the living room, temporarily of course, until we figure out what to do with all the space we have. And I just set up our nifty wireless network because I am the computer guru, so thanks to me we are now blazing through cyberspace like we were before.

I just took a shower too. I know, it’s three in the morning. But after moving you sort of need it. No one’s gonna tell me I stink, except for my closest friends. I know I can always depend on you. But this is the first time since living at home that I have my own bathroom. MY OWN BATHROOM! This is absolutely glorious.

Well, I just noticed another bruise shaped like Idaho and since I have a troubled past with girls (read: girl) from Idaho, I will break this off. And I’m tired too. Good night!

PS. Incidentally, I drove a huge truck today. Can anyone say, “stud?”

Dude, I am one tuckered little guy. I got to bed last night at around 2:30am and as I got into my bed, I thought to myself that nothing could be sweeter.

Phase one of the move is nearly complete. We had planned on getting small items and such into the new place, which by the way is fabulous!! But I don’t think we got everything. Today, it’s big stuff like my BIG tv and my bed and similar items of Brian’s. I’d like to think we made a dent in things, but I don’t think the dent is that big. It will be nice when I don’t have my crap spread out between two places. God, I hate moving!

And I’m so tired right now, I can’t even think…I got up extra early today so I could leave work extra early…to move. Maybe I’ll get to bed at a decent hour tonight.

And then again, maybe not.

I’ve pretty much been a music guy all my life. This is just the way it’s been. But due to the inspiration of a few, I have been *trying* to turn over a new leaf and actually pay attention to the words. It’s been a hard task…but I’m getting better.

For years, my best friend, Katrin, has taken on the challenge of getting me into the Christmas spirit and emailing or writing the lyrics of Christmas songs. It runs a close second to her actually being there to sing them to me. :) But this year, I took it upon myself to really pay attention to some of the words in the songs of the season. Like most people, I grew up listening to these songs and singing along, not really knowing what I was singing. So I stopped…and I reflected. And I analyzed (only a little bit). And do you want to know what I came up with?

Christmas songs really are stupid.

Well, not all of them. But a lot of them just don’t make any sense. Sure, they paint a picture of festive celebration and merriment…but the meanings get lost in the hokeyness. Now, Christmas carols in general are nice (Away in a Manger, O Holy Night, Hark The Herald Angels Sing, Joy To The World, Silent Night, etc)…but when you get into the non-traditional songs (Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Winter Wonderland, White Christmas…) you start to get in to the more questionable songs. Anyway, that’s my little piece on that. Don’t get me wrong; I love Christmas and it really is “the most wonderful time of the year,” it’s just that I could probably do without some of the tunes.

My Christmas was delightful. How was yours? I remember a time when Christmas was all about the box. The bigger the box, the better. As a kid, it’s hard sometimes to be cognizant of the true meaning of Christmas. I think I took a lot of things for granted…things like staying up late with my sister and trying to sneak out of our room to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus. As a matter of fact, that was the same year Santa brought us our first bikes. Mine was bright red and her’s was pink; which is funny in itself because my sister HATES pink. I remember almost dying on Christmas Eve one year; that probably wasn’t a fun memory, but I did live to tell the tale. I always remember being together with family on Christmas. Even family that sometimes get on my nerves (because sometimes family does that). But it was always good to be together.

In my adultness, Christmas has taken on a new meaning. The presents I get are usually from myself and are dispersed throughout the year. And my stocking with the little bell and the teddy bear are somewhere at home with my mom. But I don’t think any of that matters…the decorations and the presents and stuff. I just enjoy being with my family; and that is what Christmas should be. Togetherness.

Peace on earth. I can’t remember sitting in front of the TV watching the eleven o’clock news and not thinking to myself, “Wow, this is one messed up world we live in.” Don’t you ever get depressed watching the news? But for the first five minutes of the Christmas newscast, there was nothing but good, warm, heartfelt stories of giving and sharing. Like the firefighters from Station 26 who drove around town giving bikes to kids. Why can’t the media report good stuff like that everyday? It makes the world seem a little less messed up when you realize there are good people out there doing good things.

Yesterday I got to spend some time with Katrin and her family. We went to see Narnia, but ended up seeing Memoirs of a Geisha because Narnia was sold out. Memoirs was an exceptional film. The cinematography was amazing. I would highly recommend it. We went to dinner at Islands, but not before we went to Best Buy so Kat could purchase a laptop. Yes, it is true…she has gone PC after all these years. I just might have to go Mac now.

Now, after all of the nice Christmas stories, we were abruptly reminded of the bad stuff; we were up in Mira Mesa when some dudes in ski masks ripped off an Old Navy store. We were actually in the theatre when it happened, but it must have just happened because police were swarming all over the place. It was quite intense.

Well, I’m back at work after a nice three-day weekend. And this week is moving week, which will not be very fun…but I think it will be good once I’m all moved and settled. It will be good to kick off 2006 in a new pad…and I’m sure it’s just the beginning of good things to come in the New Year.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Luke 2:8-14 KJV

Merry Christmas!

Well, it’s not really new, but it is improved. If you haven’t seen the light, I highly recommend ditching IE and going for Firefox.

Read the review of version 1.5 from the Washington Post.

Download Firefox 1.5 here.

**Update**

Okay, how cool is this; I just got the chance to download the new Firefox…and those of you who know and love this program know all the cool little features like the tabs and such. Well, Firefox also has a built-in search engine on it’s tool bar…this is convenient if you Google a lot. But if you like recipes, random information, and other tidbits, they have also integrated searches for the Food Network, Wikipedia, and IMDB. Now that’s freakin’ spectacular.

So I’m watching the Two Hot Tamales battle Iron Chef Bobby Flay in Battle Turkey. It’s quite the competition.

I really liked the Two Hot Tamales. Their show was truly old school Food Network, before people really knew what the Food Network was. They had a great show. Another show I really liked: Grillin’ and Chillin’. It featured Bobby Flay (before he was cool) and Jack McDavid (a country boy at heart) doing what men do best…grill.

Anyway, so what else is going in in the crazy life of Aaron? Well, it’s Sunday and according to a recent post, I mentioned that I was going to be in Julian singing my heart away. However, I didn’t feel up to the drive and my voice was not in tip-top form. So I decided to stay in town. It’s a fact that I get sick only once a year, and that time is right around the holidays. I remember one year I was so sick during Christmas that I stayed home on new years while everyone else partied hearty. I was invited to three different fiestas, all of which I had to miss due to my ailments. So I hope that I don’t get really sick because that would really suck.

Some big quasi-official news is that in the next couple of weeks, I will be relocating myself. Yes, after almost a year of living in NGS East, I will be moving to, uh, NGS East. There will be two NGS Easts. Is that even possible? Yes it is. Our house, although nice, is cramped quarters for three dudes. And our garage, although nice and pretty, is cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Our president, Dan, has been quite the sport in living there these past 10 months. So Brian and I, along with another good friend, will be moving into an apartment, which is ironically down the street (literally) from my current house. It will be nice to have the Nice Guys in relatively close proximity…and it will be nice to have a little more space. The details haven’t been finalized, but deposits have been paid and plans have been made. So stay tuned for address changes, more info, and perhaps and NGS Cribs episode on NiceGuySociety.com.

Friday night was lots of fun…we got off early from work to head down to the Embarcadero for yet another Christmas party. Those “Wâ€? -ians sure know how to shake their groove thing. Literally. It was on a boat, and they had a bar and hors d’oeuvres, a nice dinner, and a raffle. Oh, and dancing. Lots of dancing. I almost got pulled on the dance floor, but charmed my way out of it. Aaron doesn’t dance. Well, that’s not true. Aaron doesn’t dance well. But there were others that did. A different side of people was definitely seen. That’s what I love about the “W.â€? It’s really a great group of people. Managers, and older people you would think would be serious and boring were the ones busting a move to 50 Cent and Cool and the Gang. It was really cool.

I planned on staying only a little while but as I was leaving, a cute girl I work with asked me to stay 5 minutes longer. So we started talking…and the 5 minutes turned into 45 minutes. It’s funny how distracting a cute girl can be.

It’s been a busy, long weekend of errands and such. But it’s been good. Only a week more! Merry Christmas, people.

This weekend has flown by in the typical manner it always seems to. That is unfortunate. But it was a nice weekend.

In case you didn’t know, I love waffles. I prefer them to pancakes, mostly because they aren’t as flat. But I don’t really care for the Belgian variety. Now don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the Belgians, it’s just that their nooks and crannies are too big. Never been a fan of the big cranny. But the only waffle irons you can find these days are Belgian waffle irons. But I got one this weekend anyway…and I will be indulging in a waffle sometime in the near future.

Friday night, I drove up to Menifee for one of two company Christmas parties. Menifee, for those not in the know, is up in Riverside county, sort of between Murietta, Sun City, and all those neat little places you probably have never heard of. I was stuck in traffic for about 2 hours driving up (which is one of the joys of living in California), but it wasn’t a bad drive. And the drive back only took about an hour.

After the busy and hectic work day, with it’s ups and downs…mostly downs…the last thing I wanted to do was think about work. Kinda tough to do when you are at a work party. But it was good to visit and unwind with colleagues and finally put faces to the names of people I deal with on a daily basis. The food wasn’t bad, the bar was well stocked, and the people were a great bunch of folks. All in all, it wasn’t a bad way to spend a Friday night. I got a nice door prize too. :)

This next week is going to be busy too…I have another company party on Friday night, so that should be fun too. It’s on a boat. In Downtown.

And for those of you in the area and willing to make the drive, I will be singing the annual performance of Handel’s Messiah up in the frosty and festive town of Julian. It’s something I look forward to every year (even though this year I will not be a soloist.) But it’s a nice time up in the country. I remember one year I got up there for warm ups and it was so cold…and after the concert, to my surprise, there was a nice little blanket of snow on my car. Snow! Can you believe it? The drive home wasn’t as nice, but it was great to be in winter weather for a time. So, those of you with nothing to do on Sunday night should come up and check it out. Dress warmly, though. Your nipples will thank you.

Anyway, I’m out of time and stuff to write. Hope y’all had a great weekend!

Well, I come to you in the wee hours of the morning to share with you and tell you about a great new artist I just discovered. Well, I didn’t discover him since he was around long before I knew about him…but he is new to me. It all started with a simple MySpace add…and then I gave his tunes a listen and found out how good he actually was.

Josh Bales is his name; a singer/songwriter from Chattanooga, Tennesse, Josh writes some really fantastic songs and has a great voice. His music has a very real feel to it, with honest lyrics and an easy quasi-folksy sound. I just ordered a CD, and will looking forward to its arrival. But I encourage you to check out his website, joshbales.com, and give him a listen. I think you will agree that he’s pretty darn good.

Anyone interested in catching Jars of Clay in Feburary at the House of Blues? Tickets go on sale mañana:

Jars of Clay
House of Blues San Diego, San Diego
Thu, 02/09/06 8:00pm