Thursday, January 12, 2012

Looking back at 2011

Hello everyone. I did start out making this a video on YouTube, but it resulted in being 17 minutes long. One of my students commented, "Master, I think this is too long." xD He calls me master - heehee. I'm glad he told me this. I was going to make another video and just cut out all the unnecessary highlights of 2011 (not really highlights at all), but I thought I would just write it here. It's here for the reading for those who care. So yes, I did shorten the highlights very much.

First I want to start off by recognizing an important event that was NOT in 2011. It was at the very end of 2010 at GMC. December 24, I won 2nd prize in the GMC Spread the Word Photo Contest. I submitted a silly picture, and I won my POD GX with POD Farm. So this is where my guitar tone comes from now - software on the computer simulating real amps and effects.

Now on to 2011. February 9, I released my YouTube interactive game. It was a multiple choice game powered by clickable annotations that lead you to its own special video. You can find it on my YouTube channel. Skipping ahead, on April 18, I won 1st prize in the GMC Attitude Competition. I played a silly version of Canon Rock and won an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer. It was my first stomp box pedal, and still the only one I have. May 13 was a great day for me. I published my last lesson in the New Canon Rock Lesson Series on YouTube. This was a huge remake project and was great to finally finish and upload it.

May 22 was a very special day for me. I graduated from Three Rivers Community College with an Associate's in Information Systems Technology Microcomputers - Highest Honors. May 25, I announced this official blogspot on YouTube. May 27, I finished a metal composition called "Determination." June 18, I sold my VOX VT 30 amplifier because I didn't like the thin sound of it anymore. I got $80 credit in the store, which I have depleted mostly on guitar strings. It was very worthwhile since guitar strings are a must for a frequent guitar player. June 21, I uploaded a cover of RED's "Best is yet to come" to YouTube. I was playing in cap and gown I wore for graduation. I also included a lesson in that video. I wish I had done it separately, because the thumbnails available are of my lesson and not my main video. =(

July 18-22 was a very awesome week for me, as I attended a church camp close by. I went with a few friends, as our youth from our church has diminished immensely. I looked at that week as my last year at that church camp because I knew I would probably be in a new job that next year and find it hard to get off. It's okay though. I went every year in a row since we have lived in this area (2004-2011).

September 2 was a cool day for me. I had heard a song at a basketball game and wanted to know what it was. It was something that was played right as the teams came running out onto the court. It had remained a mystery for years, and on this day I remembered it again and figured I would Google it. I didn't use the internet back then, so I couldn't have thought of that then.

On September 9, I interned for a day at Millennium 3 Computers. This is a computer repair shop you go to in the case of your computer fouling up. It was interesting that a lot of people's computers were at their breaking point and needed a new hard drive (HD). I know some people frown on that because some people say computer repair shops just automatically say "You need a new HD" to get a $50 service instead of troubleshooting. The thing is, they do troubleshoot. They run a disk check to see if there are any noticeable issues. They will also scan the computer for any viruses, spyware, or malware. A lot of times, your HD is just simply messed up and it would take more money to try fixing it than it would to just say, "We will back up your stuff, and dump it all on this new HD." It's really cool. They really enjoyed my company and enjoyed being there learning. I got paid for it at the end of the day. The owner and director interviewed me near the end of the day and took interest in my experiences and knowledge. I wonder if they check out my stuff on the internet? Probably not, as I am just one in a million. Those are busy businessmen. The owner did tell me that a 4-year college education isn't really going teach me anything I need to know for the job. Most of this will come in on-the-job training. Regardless of what people say, I am doing what I believe the LORD wants for my life. I am thriving at Wal-Mart. They love me and I love them.

September 16 I started to grasp odd time signatures. I am still learning and trying to get past the 4/4 time. I am wanting to explore things like 6/8, 6/4, 7/8, 9/8, and 5/8. I want to be comfortable with these odd times. September 22 was the day I announced my official fan email - which is hardly used. =( Oh well, it's there. I guess people just want to private message me on YouTube. But I guess it does provide an outlet for those who do not have a YouTube or Google account.

September 29 I was hired in as a cashier at my local Wal-Mart. We are not a Supercenter, but I still enjoy it there, as mentioned above. I primarily work as a cashier, but I also bring carts into the store, stock some shelves, zone (straighten things up and pull everything forward), and basically serve our customers any way I can. The people there are awesome. I do believe I love retail!! ^_^

October 15 I attended Pumpkin Hollow with some friends. It's a place you go with many attractions to get scared. My favorites are the Frightful Forest and the Mad Skull Mine. I think I've been there every year. In the Mine you have to venture through tight, dark spaces, lit by dim lamps. And of course, you will always get scared. You can read more about this experience here. And you can always check out past experiences by using the archive.

October 29 marked the 3rd Anniversary of my playing guitar. I really recommend that you check out the progress I made in this video. I have videoed myself playing from beginning. You will see me evolve musically before your very eyes!

November 10 was when I replaced that VOX amp with a Fender Mustang 1 amplifier. You can check out my unboxing here. November 22 my brother and I uploaded our short film we made together called "Dollar Warfare - Mission One." December 23, I officially received my new Alesis M1 Active Mk2 monitors. I use these for my music production. They are awesome!! I show them in a Christmas Rock video I did. December 24 our family took a vacation. This a wonderful way to end the year.

Overall, this year was a blast! I hope this year is filled with much more. I have a few goals and I hope I achieve them. One being getting a high definition camera for YouTube videos. =)

Cheers!!
Brandon

No comments:

Post a Comment