These are random pics I took while out and about…I think they are interesting…
MARTA is accepting all types of advertising now… 😉
The boxing room at my gym… I have punched all of those heavy bags. What a stress reliever!
And finally, this truck I saw while driving on I-285 on the way home from work last week..
Hope you enjoyed these… I have more, but for another time! 🙂
It’s that time again… 3 concerts in 2 months.
Eric Clapton/Roger Daltrey (Mar 9) [Taking Dana to see this one…]
Eric Clapton: Cocaine
Roger Daltrey: Behind Blue Eyes (The Who)
Megadeth/Testament/Exodus (Mar 21)
Megadeth: Holy Wars
Testament: Souls of Black
Exodus: The Toxic Waltz
Porcupine Tree (April 27)
Porcupine Tree: Way Out of Here
Can’t wait for each of these shows!
These are not in order of talent but how my preference… there may be more talented drummers out there, but since I don’t know about them, they can’t be a favorite, can they? 🙂 So, here they are …
1. Mike Portnoy [Dream Theater, ex-O.S.I.]
2. Neil Peart [Rush]
3. Nicko McBrain [Iron Maiden]
4. Scott Rockenfeld [Queensryche]
5. Danny Carey [Tool]
6. Keith Moon [ex-The Who]
7. Gavin Harrison [Porcupine Tree, O.S.I.]
8. Ringo Starr [The Beatles]
9. Martin Lopez [ex-Opeth]
10. Charlie Benante [Anthrax, S.O.D.]
11. Michel Langevin aka Away [Voivod]
12. Tommy Lee [Motley Crue]
13. Eric Carr [ex-Kiss]
14. Igor Cavelera [ex-Sepultura, Cavelera Conspiracy]
15. Mike Wengren [Distrubed]
16. Robert Sweet [Stryper]
17. Alex Van Halen [Van Halen]
18. Bill Ward [Black Sabbath]
19. Nick Mason [Pink Floyd]
20. Sean Kinney [Alice in Chains]
And there you have it… hope that you like many of the same guys I do… 🙂
Where do I start? I guess January 1, 2009, I suppose… 😉
Actually, the year started off pretty well.
January
We took a trip down to St. Augustine, FL. It’s somewhere that Dana had always wanted to go and I was able to make it happen for her.
February
Dana was hot on the trail of a job that would finally bring her to Alpharetta…. by the time February ended, she was here. Though she had moved here, we only lived together part-time with her spending the rest of her time at her Mom’s.
We had an amazing Valentine’s day. I finally got to go to Stoney River!  Just about the best steak I have ever had.
April
We had a very fun outting with Kevin and Family to go bowling… something we need to do again! 🙂
We went down to the Savannah area where her brother lives for her nephew’s 4th birthday.
May, June and July
We began a long stretch of being away from home and/or complete weekend plans. Beginning with going to Huntsville for Decoration Day and then I went back for Mother’s Day (where I showed my Mom the ring I bought for Dana).
Then, the Mentone trip where Dana and I got engaged over Memorial Day Weekend.
Followed up by a trip to Huntsville to celebrate my birthday a couple of weeks early but I ended up going to Huntsville on my birthday weekend anyway. (I was worried that there might be bachelor party activities on that particular weekend… but we did it the night before the wedding. Crazy, eh?)
The next week, Dana’s Aunt from Ohio came to visit and we went to Cartersville and to Barnsley Gardens. Oh, and by the way, we nailed down our reception place during her Aunt’s visit.
Followed up by a trip to Huntsville to celebrate my birthday since that weekend was my birthday!
The next weekend, there were 2 weddings… on the 26th, my best friend in all of Georgia got married. I was the best man. Then, my friend, Jeremy got married on the 27th.
Followed by yet another trip to Huntsville for the 4th of July…Â Dana went with me and we had fun with Robert and Brad.
Then, another trip to Huntsville for me. That was 4 trips to Huntsville in a 7 week period.
Meanwhile, during June, we began our meetings with Deacon Bill as part of our pre-marital counseling as required by the Catholic Church.
The final three weekends of July were a much needed break from traveling…Â I did get to see two of my favorite bands in concert on back-to-back nights: Tool and Dream Theater.
August
On Dana’s Birthday, we went to Ohio for her family reunion (father’s side). We stopped at Cumberland Falls in Kentucky on the way up. I had a pretty good time even though I rarely attend family reunions.
I got us tickets to the Paul McCartney show at Piedmont Park for Dana’s birthday present. Well, originally, I got her a ticket for Crue Fest 2, but once I found out that McCartney was coming, we were going!
September
I finally got my vacation. I spend the first half of it at home relaxing and time away from Atlanta traffic and the last half of it in Huntsville.
October
We saw RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles and spend the long Columbus Day weekend in Savannah, where we stayed with her friend, Aimee. We also participated in the AIDS Walk Atlanta.
November
We went to the Star Wars in Concert. My first live Orchestra event… It was pretty cool. Familiar music and it was Star Wars!
We also took a trip up to Amicalola Falls. It was a very pretty and a very relaxing day. We really needed that. The year had been pretty hectic so far, but there was a month and a half to go.
We started our meetings with our sponsor couple from the Church. We got in two of the five required meetings
We spend Thanksgiving Day at Dana’s Mom’s, the first time Dana had been home on Thanksgiving Day for several years. Followed by me going to Huntsville for Thanksgiving with my family and time to put up Mom’s Christmas decorations…
December
It’s Christmas time! We went to my Mom’s for 3 nights to celebrate with my family and then going to her Mom’s on Christmas Day. Again, she had not been home on Christmas Day in many years.
Summary
This is by no means everything that we did during the year. Just the ones that I had pictures and posts for 😉 Anyway, it was a great year with great friends, both here and in Huntsville. I really wish that I could properly show how much all of you, my friends, mean to me.  So, if I had a glass here I would raise a toast to all of you. To the past, the present, and the future that we always remain friends…
For more pictures and some video, visit my Mobile Me Gallery.
Here are all of the music I bought that was released during 2009… I sure thought I bought more that was released during 2009…
2009
Chickenfoot – Chickenfoot
Dream Theater – Black Clouds and Silver Linings
Megadeth – Endgame
OSI – Blood
Porcupine Tree – The Incident
Queensryche – American Soldier
Shadow Gallery – Digital Ghosts
Three – Revisions
Albums I still want (2009)
Alice in Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue
Kiss – Sonic Boom
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Pin Points & Gin Joints
Stryper – Murder By Pride
I did pick up several albums released in prior years including
The Who – Tommy
The Who – Quadraphonia
The Beatles Stereo Box Set
Queen – Sheer Heart Attack