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I left work today with the intention of seeing David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion fame) perform with his new side project, Headphones. With three hours to spare, I killed time by walking what seemed to be like half-way across the city. Navigating DC can be treacherous, but to me, there is still a novelty of exploring the old neighborhoods and wondering about the histories of the row houses and businesses.

I arrived at the club on time, and asked one of the bouncers when Headphones would play. "11pm." I was expecting 9:00 or 10:00. I left, knowing that I'd have time for only 1/3 of his set before I'd have to leave and catch the last Metro train out of the city.

I thought that, while I'm down here, I may as well walk around some more. I proceeded to walk west, toward the nearest Red Line station. Despite the downer of not being able to see David Bazan and Co., the evening wasn't completely lost. I found a Day Pass ticket on the sidewalk and got to ride home for free! Such is life.

Annie and I met with my pastor tonight and set a date for our wedding: 29 Apr 2006 6 May 2006 21 Oct 2006.

Jade, Annie, and I went to Ray's karate meet today. He's a second degree black belt, and one of the judges on the panel. He's depicted here testing his student Willie for competency. The youngest competitor was a twelve-year old girl, a first degree junior black belt at that. Definitely someone I wouldn't want to encounter in a dark alley!

One particular anecdote from my high school years stands out: I was heading to the student lounge to eat lunch one afternoon. For some reason, I didn't see a metallic folding chair lying on the floor. I walked over it; the chair shot out from under my feet and I was soon horizontal to the floor. I fell straight on my back, and luckily my backpack softened my fall. A friend and I laughed so hard, we had tears. What made it funny was the fact that it closely resembled what you'd see in an old cartoon when someone tripped over a banana peel.

I proposed to Annie this evening and she said "Yes"! I caught her totally off-guard too. She knew I was planning on popping the question, but she thought it would occur sometime in the spring. I got down on one knee, and at first, couldn't get the words out. I didn't really have to because I was already in her arms and she was jubulant. I managed to eke out a whispered "Will you marry me?" She loves her new "sparklie" and, upon receipt of the ring, couldn't stop squealing and going "eeeeeeee!"

I looked out the window this morning to see a flock of pigs fly by. That's how I knew it was time to get my first cell phone. It's a Valentine's Day present from Annie.

As a part of today's pre-Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations, I have the opportunity to share some more pictures of my niece, Kayla Morgan (known affectionately as "Kayla-baa"). I, along with my parents and Annie, drove four hours on Friday to see her, and literally spent every available moment fawning over this five-week old bundle of joy.

I became an uncle today! Kayla Morgan was born a healthy 8lbs 15oz. to my sister Emily. View more Kayla pictures in her photo gallery. Additionally, it seems that Kayla is quite the model; see pictures of her first photo shoot. I like Pose #3.

My web site has finally been transferred away from my old hosting provider, so I will begin my diatribe. I don't usually disparage companies or people in public, but I thought I'd make an exception with Yahoo Web Hosting. I canceled my account with them last Thursday (that's six days ago, for those of you in Rio Linda), and up until this morning, they still hadn't released my domain name back to the original registrar. Six Days. Polite e-mails to their tech support center went unanswered. Phone calls were unproductive. Results were just not happening.

Finally, a call placed this morning yielded real results. I hit the jackpot and actually talked to someone who knew what he was doing. I swear, if they hired qualified, knowledgeable people, the average call could be cut in half and they could afford to pay their employees more. They would attract better applicants, turnover would decrease, and they wouldn't have to keep as many unqualified people. But I digress. The man I talked with today knew what to do, and released my domain name back to the registrar within the hour. An hour or so later, my web site was up and running again with my new hosting provider, A-plus.net. Why Yahoo didn't release my domain the day I canceled my account, I have no idea. I absolutely love A-plus.net. They have a singular focus — web hosting and domains — and are infinitely better than Yahoo. Yahoo, on the other hand, does everything under the sun — they do everything, but do nothing well.

I went to see Pedro the Lion last night at the Black Cat. Talk about lack of pretension. Lead Lion David Bazan was out with the roadies setting up equipment for the band that opened for him. He seemed so unassuming and normal; it was scary. Bazan is now a married man with a child, thinning hair, a noticeable belly, and a quasi-truck-driver/logger appearance. But his sad, morose, sincere lead vocals had many in the crowd dropping their jaws. His songwriting frequently hit so close to home, that I came away learning things about myself. He told me things about myself that I was unaware of.

I started the night about five or six rows back, and by the end of the set, I was front and center and could not have been closer. Bazan looked over the audience — he sort of squinted and occasionally twitched his left eye as if he were using it to concentrate on a chord or a lyric. The band was competent but Bazan misplayed a couple of chords here and there, and there was infrequent improvisation. No frills, no gimmicks, no look-at-me guitar solos or dancing around. I guess Pedro the Lion can be considered a Christian Elliott Smith, but with an edge.

After the show (after I tried unsuccessfully to procure the set-list), I talked with Bazan's sister, Rochelle, who was selling Pedro the Lion merchandise in the back. She told me Bazan uses a lot of fiction (parables, if you will) to get messages across in songs. I asked her about David's like or dislike of the word Christian; she told me he struggles with the word, and its implications. Some media outlets have tried to give the word a negative connotation. The media promotes the small percentage of Christians who are controversial or hypocritical, or focuses on the sin(s) of a particular Christian, as if the failings of one person discredit a belief. What was I talking about? Oh yes, the enigmatic band/persona Pedro the Lion. An acquired taste, but I strongly recommend it. [ more concert reviews ]