yesterday was interesting. after work and running by the studio to get the new PFL mix, i was in a big rush back to my apartment because i was late for the class i teach at wayland. it was raining. my feet were wet. i was sprinting up the (wet) stairs to my apartment and my foot slipped. i think the impact of my body hitting the concrete steps shook the whole building. but i got up quickly and went inside thinking everything was ok. then i looked down and saw blood all over my fingers and running down my hand. the fall took several chunks of flesh off the knuckles on my left hand. i also have a nice abrasion on my knee and a sore shoulder. The lesson I learned here is don't be in a hurry, because being in a hurry will kick your ass.

my mood improved drastically when i found out that plan for landing will possibly do a tour with thorn vs. side in june. then the day ended very well when amy and i met up with some friends at the wine bar downtown. that place is awesome...not smoky at all, great atmosphere, and some cool artwork and design. honestly, i hate wine, but i really liked the wine there. it is specially made just for that place. today, amy and i are off to abilene to visit some of our old college haunts and go hang out in downtown Abilene at the Grace Museum and the Paramount and such. maybe i'll have some cool photos to post when we're back.

Zach's new band Thorn Vs. Side crashed at my house while they were up here this week recording 3 songs for a split they are doing. I just heard the final cut of the songs, and, I have to admit, there is a lotta rock going on there. It was fun having some guests, even though the 4 of them were probably a bit cramped on the floor of my 1 bedroom apartment.

Another newfound listening pleasure is the latest Cursive album. I can't stop listening to it. I think I can safely say that this is a unique album with excellent songwriting and some innovations that push the envelope a bit. I guess one might expect such quality from a band that seems to have survived the pillaging of indie rock by mainstream America.

Hold on to your seats, kids. The final mixdown of Plan for Landing's cd will be finished on Monday. Now you only have to wait another 2-3 weeks for the pressed version. I added some photos from the studio.

I just finished watching the movie Bloody Sunday, and I realize that i have not yet seen even a small fraction of the injustice that i will probably see before i am an old man. If you don't know what happened that day, here is a concise summary. At the same time, I cannot help but recognize that my nation and the government that I live under has imposed it's will, policies, sanctions, and military on other nations in ways that pale in comparison to the Brits' treatment of the Irish. Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq.

I am just glad that this world is not my home. 2 Corinthians 4:17

I went home to celebrate my birthday with the fam and not only had a good time but left with a brand spankin' new bright and shiny iPod. I've been uploading songs to it and playing with it most of today. i've already danced around a little bit like the people in the commercial (except i was "dancing" along to As I Lay Dying).

My sis and her husband have birthdays within a week of mine, so we all celebrated them on friday. Since the birthday cake was for all 3 of us, it had our three names on it with little cartoonish icing figures...I was just going to try and describe it, but a picture will work much better:

And after two days of cake eating, this is all of me that remained:


This week should be exciting: tonight Amy and I are going out to celebrate my b-day (since today is officially it), and zach and his new band are coming into town to record a demo cd and are crashing at my house for a few days. also, Plan for Landing will head into the studio Thursday to add drum and bass tracks.

"go go go go...go matthew, it's yo birfday we're gonna party like it's yo birfday we're gonna sip bicardi like it's your birfday"

Sunday was a productive day for me. I spent the whole afternoon at the studio finishing vocal tracks, then, after a short break to scarf down a few burritos from rosa's, I met up with Nate and Isaac to practice. So now all the vocal tracks and all but 2 guitar tracks are done for the 7-song cd, and we're scheduled have the drum and bass tracks completed by March 22nd. Everybody start savin' up, cause (if we stay on schedule) the pressed cds should be in by the first week of April.

Maybe I'll have a "cd listening" party at my apartment where you can buy one, or, I might even have a big CD RELEASE SHOW so all my friends (yes, all five of you) can not only pay to buy my cd but also pay to see me play. Yeah right, setting up a "cd release show" is a near guarantee that the shipment of your pressed cds won't get there in time, thus making it a "hey-we-were-supposed-to-have-our-cds-but-we-don't-yet show." Am I ranting?

Oh, and by the way, I am the clothes-hangar ninja. HEE YA!!

some lyrics from a song that is meaning a lot to me right now:
Come break the chains, the chains that hinder love, all that remains of yesteryear. Come break the chains, the chains that pull me down. Come break the chains and draw me near.

Let your fire burn, consuming me. Let your jealous flame come take away everything. Let your fire burn, consuming me. Let your jealous flame come and write your name upon my heart until all that remains is the light of your countenance, and I will be satisfied when I awake as a lover of you.

Maybe I'll go to the gym and workout tomorrow. Maybe we all should. Why you ask? 'Cause Americans are getting fat.

Hey, it's my buddy Pete! (He's the one on the left being all vegan and eating an apple.) He made the front page of the University Daily. I found out today that Sopranos night is back, so I'll get to see Pete and Chris soon.