andrew dodson

It’s been a fairly good (long) weekend. Here’s the rundown:

Friday – Vertex was great. We had a lot of new faces, which was really good to see. We did things a little different by grilling out and watching a movie – outside. Russ and Alex did a great job of hanging the screen on the side of the church, and Julia prepared all the computer-related things. We thought we were going to experience some DVD issues shortly before we started, but Justin stepped in and saved the day. All-in-all, it was probably one of the best nights of Vertex so far.

Saturday – the praise band had a long rehearsal from 8-12. I had big plans for the rest of the day, but they disappeared as soon as I got home from rehearsal. I still don’t really know what happened, but I didn’t feel very good at all. I think part of it may’ve been exhaustion. All I did was lay around and sleep. Everytime I got up to do something, I started to feel tired again. Added to this was a headache. Later in the evening, I made my mind up to get up and do something with the hopes that I’d start to feel better. I took some headache pills, ate dinner and took a shower. Went to Justin’s and hung out for a bit, and then we headed to the movies where we met up with Lori. By this time, I was feeling much, much better.

Sunday – after church, some of us met up at Cliffside’s for lunch. It’s a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant here in Frankfort. Everyone seems to love it, but it’s only the second time I’ve been. My review? The place is run-down, it’s a little smelly, and our waitress (if you can call her that) was rude. I won’t hold it against them that it took a long time to place our order and get our food, considering every seat in the place was occupied. The food was good, though.

I stopped at home for a bit and got to visit with my aunt and uncle while they were in town. After this, I headed to Leesburg for a Josh Martin Band show. I gotta admit… I was really dreading this gig. It turned out to be a nice event, and we played well. I split as soon as it was over because I knew friends from church would be hanging out back in Frankfort. I headed over to Chuck & Becky’s for a movie.

Monday (4th of July) – I “slept in” this morning. I can tell I’m getting older because I only slept 90 minutes longer than I normally would, and I was still up by 8:30a.m. I can remember the days when “sleeping in” meant waking up after most of the world had already eaten lunch. Now, I can sleep in and still make it to McDonald’s before they stop serving breakfast.

I’m going home this afternoon to do laundry and to start working on the Josh Martin Band website. I already have a design in mind (inspired by a commercial I saw the other night). I also have lots of pictures to choose from, thanks to Carrie What’s-Her-Name who took pictures of the band at our live recording and a photo shoot a few weeks back. So, it should be quick work.

I’ll be heading to some form of a cookout later tonight, although I’m not sure where just yet. Happy 4th of July!

About a month ago, while discussing the idea of moving to the St. Clair Apartment, I mentioned to my parents that it had a dish washer. One of the things I’m lazy about is washing dishes, so the idea of having a dish washer was very appealing.

My dad says, “you should just be using paper plates.”

The next time I went to Kroger, I invested in paper plates, bowls, plastic cups and utensils. I haven’t had to wash dishes since.

Good idea, dad.

Not to the east side, though. Downtown. As of July 1, my new address will be 315 St. Clair #302.

I’ve consulted with a lot of people and pretty much all of them agree it’s a great apartment. My parents also approve – I knew mom would like it (she always wants the best for me, and this is a nicer apartment than what I’ve got now), but my dad is always a tough sell. I know if I ever gain his approval, it’s a good deal.

I also learned it’s the same exact apartment a former co-worker of mine lived in (the person who put the idea of living on St. Clair in my head). “Which apartment did you live in?” “302.” “Oh, that’s the one I might take.” “Isn’t it awesome?!?” It was a funny conversation. I’m inviting her to visit once I get settled in so she can see her old apartment.

The landlord is being more-than-generous with me, which makes me feel good. I also have Justin to thank for putting in a good word for me. I’ll be able to start moving in the last week of June. If anyone wants to help me move, come on!!!

The past 24 hours have been somewhat of a whirlwind. Here’s the run-down:

1. Friday night – Vertex. I was at the church until very, very late.
2. Saturday, 10 a.m. – praise band rehearsal. Following rehearsal, I tore down my drumset (mics and everything) for a Josh Martin Band gig in Pleasureville.
3. Arrived in Pleasureville around 3:00 and started setting up for the gig. Soundchecked and ran through most of the set.
4. The gig started a little after 7 p.m. and went very well. I’m very excited to start working on mixing the tracks for the live CD.
5. After the gig, Josh’s mother-in-law invited the band to her house for hamburgers. It was a very nice gesture, and it hit the spot. None of us had a chance to eat dinner before the show, so we ate very well.
6. Went back to the church around 10 p.m. to start tearing down all the equipment. I started heading home at 11:20 p.m.
7. Midnight – arrived back at Crestwood and loaded all my gear back into the church. I set everything back up and was home by 1:30 a.m.
8. Sunday, 7:45 a.m. – back to Crestwood for the Sunday early service.
9. I was back at my apartment shortly after 11 a.m. today, and that wrapped up my commitments for the weekend. I spent a couple of hours mixing the Vertex recording from Friday night and burning some CDs.

I came home this afternoon, and the weekend has caught up with me. Mom and dad are gone to visit my grandparents, so Bailey and me have been lazy all afternoon and evening.

As is the case with most decent human beings, I hold myself to a very high standard of excellence. While some categories of my life fall by the wayside of excellence (cleaning, keeping my vehicle in tip-top shape, eating habits, etc.), there are many areas where “getting by” isn’t good enough – being a Christian, relationships, playing the drums, creating websites, recordings, and most importantly, work. These are the areas of my life that are my passions.

Overall, I have a very good temperment (did I spell that right?). I’m generally in a good mood, and I don’t get upset very easily. A sure-fire way you will see my temper is when I haven’t lived up to my own standard of excellence. Nine times out of ten, when I’m upset, it’s with myself.

Today was a day when I didn’t meet my own standard of excellence – at work. If this was The Apprentice, the Donald would’ve fired me. I botched an order and made life difficult for the customer, my boss and our production department. The silver lining is the “botching” happened before the customer received their order. Thanks to my boss stepping in to help, life will be okay. CLS will make money, and the customer will get their order.

As my dad would say, “Chalk this up as a learning experience.” As Annie would say, “The sun’ll come up tomorrow.”

We all know I’m a drummer (most of us, anyway). Several years ago, my mother would always say I should play drums for a Christian group. Me? Play drums in a Christian band? Yeah, right! Fast forward several years, and where can I be found? Playing drums for the Crestwood Baptist Church praise band.

Not only do my parents have an affinity for Christian music, they prefer southern gospel. When suggesting that I should play for a Christian group, I could tell they’d prefer it to be a southern gospel group. Me? Play drums for a southern gospel group? Yeah, right!

God had a different plan. This past week, I accepted the job as drummer for the Josh Martin Band. Not quite southern gospel – I’d call it Christian alt-country. Country music with an edge, and a Christian message.

My first gig with the band? Low and behold, a recording for a live worship album. Better git to practicin’!

Lori F. finally has internet in her apartment. She’s using my family’s old (ancient) computer. Surprisingly, it’s running fairly well, aside from a few bugs here and there. I just ran AdAware and Internet Explorer is acting much better now.

This may become a regular thing for me… hopping on here Sunday nights and giving a synopsis of my weekend.

Friday – I took off work a half-day early in order to get ready for Vertex. I had a lot of nervous/anxious energy, so I decided to go to the gym and hit the treadmill. I ran a few quick errands, grabbed some lunch and headed to Crestwood. The lead team spent the afternoon transforming Crestwood into the home of Vertex. The band (52seven) arrived around 4 p.m. and started setting up. As 8 p.m. approached, I learned that my trip to the gym didn’t work – I was still anxious.

At 8 p.m., Vertex officially started. Well… it was actually around 8:15. Pretty much everything went according to plan, aside from one or two very minor technical issues throughout the night. Dave Edwards gave an excellent sermon/lecture/whatever you want to call it. Afterward, the coffeehouse seemed to be a big hit.

We know of at least one person who made a decision to accept Christ, and three people that want to volunteer at Vertex. Woo hoo!

Saturday: I spent most of the morning and afternoon at work (due to leaving early on Friday). I still didn’t get done as much as I would’ve liked, but I’ll try and hit it hard on Monday. I came home and watched the rest of the UK game (another narrow victory). The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent working on the Vertex website and lounging around. I went over to Lori’s later that night to hang out with some people from church. Watching Forrest Gump ended up being the entertainment.

Sunday: I went to church this morning. This afternoon, I went up to Lexington to record the Central Kentucky Concert Band. They’re becoming a very well-playing group. I stopped by at home for a little while this evening, and now I’m back at the apartment. It’s 10:04 as I type this, and I’m going to try my hardest to be in bed in an hour. We’ll see….