Monday, February 23, 2009

Playing The Drums

Playing the drums. Something I've always wanted to do, but never really had the time or the patience to learn. I have however, over time, learned some basic concepts of playing the drums incase I were ever to embark on such an endeavor. Recently I've found a new desire to play the drums; except now I hope to master the drums of life instead of the real ones.


I suppose I could qualify as someone who is anal-retentive; I'm a traditional list-maker, I prefer to have a plan more often than not, and the organization of my environment is key to my functionality. The problem with being dependent on organization is that if you become too focused on the idea itself, you lose focus of the things that really matter.


I have narrowed my life tasks down to two categories; things I need to do that are time-sensitive, and things that I want to do that could be time-sensitive, but wind up not being so as an excuse to procrastinate. What kind of way is that to live? It's a terrible way to live. You are letting your tasks define you, and their time-sensitivity dictate your actions...you've essentially become a robot. I look no further than myself to find someone guilty of this crime. I mentioned my two categories that I live by, and I have recently tried to solve my problem of needs-based prioritization. I made one big list, a list with several bullets; one for each commitment in my life (i.e. work, school, club x, club y, club z, etc...). Under each bullet are sub-bullets for specific tasks within that commitment - it is a good way to make sure that nothing gets forgotten. At the bottom of the list is my "other" bullet, which is composed of the things that I want to do. As much as this list is helpful, as much as it keeps me focused, how can I get away from it and stop letting a piece of paper define and predict me?


Enter the drums.


When playing the drums you first need to establish a rhythm. A simple, noticeable, and consistent rhythm. That rhythm is your 'home' for the song, and is always your fallback. In life, your rhythm is your routine; the time you wake up, the place you go on a Tuesday night, the time you eat your meals, the time you go to bed. Now I know that there are those people who hate routines and would curse the idea of them until the end of the world, but I challenge you to bear with me because you see, your routine is just your rhythm, it's not the whole song.


So after you get the rhythm down and you can sit there and jam out with it all day, now what? Now you are free to experiment. You've got your rhythm so set that you can play it with your eyes closed and without even thinking about it; the same way you will feel about your routine once you've made it into habit. Now go ahead and mix it up - hit the cymbals three times, throw in some cowbell, or give the base and extra tap or two. Translate that into your life - rediscover and old hobby, catch up with a long lost friend, try a new activity or distraction that you've always been interested in. Maybe you like that base hit so much that you incorporate it into your rhythm, or maybe you don't so you try something different next time. If you do incorporate it, go back to just playing your rhythm until you've mastered that new part, and then start experimenting again until you've made a whole song. That complete song, the compilation of your rhythm and the experimental hits that allow you to explore the drums and their full capacity...that is your life, and what a life it is.


And so I hope to master my own song, but first I've got to find my rhythm. To do that I am going to do whatever it takes to wipe this to-do list clean. As much as the list dictates and predicts who I am, as long as it exists it remains in control. All I can do is man up, take on the list and finish it. If you don't clean the room, how are you ever going to find your way to the drum set?


Many of us need that rhythm in our lives, but are too busy dwelling in self-pity to clean up the room and get to the drum chair. So clean up that mess, create that rhythm, and then make your song. Once you've done that, then you can start inviting people over and teaching them how to play the drums. Before you know it, you'll be jammin' out like there's no tomorrow. And the fact of the matter is that you'll be so good on those drums that if there really were no tomorrow it wouldn't even matter, because you'll be goin' out playing the song of your life.


So go play your drums and get that rhythm going as soon as you can. Because the truth is that time waits for nobody and it stinks to be owned by a piece of paper; and wouldn't it just be a shame for your time to be up, and the room to still be messy. I can imagine no worse feeling than having to leave the room never knowing how good I might have been on the drums...

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Archives #2 - "The End of a Chapter"

This article was published in on September 24, 2008, for Christopher Newport University's Captain's Log, and bids farewell to Yankee Stadium...



I have never liked the New York Yankees. In fact, I have at times hated them. I live one hour north of Yankee Stadium and have spent my whole life surrounded by Yankee fans who constantly brag about their 26 rings. I find multiple flaws in the way that the Yankees run their organization, and the types of players that they choose to sign. I can’t stand that when the Yankees play poorly that they are “just having an ‘off’ year,” but when anyone else plays poorly, they are “just a bad team.” I am frustrated by the fact that more often than not, when ESPN nationally televises a game it is one involving the Yankees.



I’ll tell you one thing though, one of the best radio calls I've heard in 21 years of being a baseball fan, came in 2003 when listening to Yankee broadcaster Charlie Steiner, “…and there’s a fly ball deep to left, there it goes, it’s on its way, and the Yankees are going to the World Series!” In fact, just typing that gives me goose-bumps. I’ll also never forget going to a Yankee game in April of 2007, where Alex Rodriguez hit a walk-off homerun against the Baltimore Orioles, making it his 14th of the month. As much as I have never liked the Yankees, I couldn’t help but be ecstatic about the homer…the atmosphere of the park was intoxicating.



This past Sunday night marked the end of an incredibly amazing chapter in Yankee history…the final game in Yankee Stadium. That building, “The House That Ruth Built,” has housed countless moments in baseball history, from Babe Ruth’s 60-homerun season, to Don Larsen’s perfect game, to Jeffrey Maier’s home run catch, all the way up to Aaron Boone’s unforgettable Game 7 walk-off homer in 2003 against the rival Red Sox.



Even on the other side of the coin, there were amazing non-Yankee performances in the Bronx as well. Including the Red Sox series-clinching game 7 win in 2004 that marked the first 3-0 turn-around in ALCS history. And just one year earlier in 2003 when Josh Beckett threw a championship-clinching 5-hitter in game 6 of the World Series…one of the best series-ending performances of all time.



Love or hate the Yankees, you can’t help but appreciate the mystique, aura, and history that reside in the place they’ve called home for the last 85 years. In fact, all the intangibles that are present at Yankee Stadium are essentially what baseball is all about. It’s about history and tradition, class and respect. It’s about the fact that everyone who has ever been to the ballpark can recall virtually every detail of their visit. It’s about a father being able to take his boys out for the day, and sit with them in the blue folding chairs of this legendary place where Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, and Mickey Mantle once played ball.



And as much as Yankee fans will be disappointed that their team will not be playing in October for the first time in over a decade, I happen to view it as a bittersweet end to an amazing building. Sure it’s more than just a “bummer” that the Yanks won’t be in the playoffs, but at least they could head into Sunday night’s game knowing that it really is the last time, and they can just focus on the atmosphere, truly capturing the moment. However, it also gives way to hope. Hope for a fresh start in 2009, in a brand new home. A hope to Yankees fans for the start of a new dynasty, and new traditions; never forgetting the old all along the way, but also cherishing what is to come.



So farewell Yankee Stadium, in your ruble you will carry all of those amazing moments, and all of the amazing voices that told the stories to fans listening and watching everywhere. And hello to the new Yankee Stadium, I think I speak for the world in saying that we all hope you can deliver the same type of memorable moments that your predecessor did.



I have never liked the New York Yankees, and probably never will. But I always have and always will respect the junk out of them. And so as they open up a new chapter in their storybook history, I will be anxiously watching on opening day 2009, as any true baseball fan would.