This Thursday will mark six months that my girlfriend, Heather, and I, first started dating. And to be completely honest with, Heather coming into my life was exactly what I needed at this point in my life. She's accepted everything about me, my strong points, my shortcomings, even my sordid past. She took it all in stride and she's been by my side every step of the way. I think it's that, and so much more that she's done for me, that make me feel as grateful as I do for everything I have. Meeting Heather taught me to fall in love all over again. I thought those days for me were done, and I was more than prepared to spend the rest of my life alone. She proved to me once and for all, that not ALL women are as fickle and superficial as I had feared them to be. So Heather, if you're reading this, I love you, and I am always going to. Please never forget that. Thursday, we're hitting up EPCOT, in the Japan section, to go to one of those restaurants where they cook everything in front of you. I've never been witness to that sort of thing, so that should definitely be a treat in and of itself. That and I love Asian food, so it sounds like a good time.
As many of you know, I transferred out of my Berry Towne location in favor for Summer Bay. This was a move that I didn't just want to happen, but it NEEDED to happen. My transfer took place near the end of July. My original plan was to wait until right around now, maybe even October, to ask for it. But through most of this year, there were so many things going on at that place, and I just couldn't take it anymore. There were some people there that I just simply couldn't trust, associate and manager alike. Even some instances of ineptitude sprinkled in, which is something that I just simply cannot tolerate under any conditions. There were only a handful of people that I trusted, a manager or two included, and that I would do just about anything for them, and I did. I also thank them for everything they had done for me to help me out. I just got tired of it, plan and simple. I had been lobbying for a full-time position pretty much ever since I first set foot in that place over four years ago, and I was constantly given the message that I was never going to get it. In short, I stopped trying at my job, and I stopped caring. I was just there to do my job, go home, and pick up a paycheck once a week. But since coming to Summer Bay, it was a light switch flipped in my head. I started caring again, I started working a lot harder. My hard work is actually being recognized by the right people, and they've been approaching ME about full-time. I never had to say a word. So finally, I am hoping for the best. We'll see what happens.
2nd Chance CD of the Week
Dream Theater
A Dramatic Turn of Events (2011)
Tracklist
One the Backs of Angels
Build Me Up, Break Me Down
Lost Not Forgotten
This is the Life
Bridges in the Sky
Outcry
Far From Heaven
Breaking All Illusions
Beneath the Surface
This album is an interesting one, and one that I have been looking forward to since hearing their previous CD, Black Clouds and Silver Linings (2009). Since then, founding drummer Mike Portnoy left the band, citing that he wanted to take a break from writing and recording. The rest of the band wanted to continue at the breakneck pace they had been known to go, so Portnoy left. In the meantime, Avenged Sevenfold's drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan unexpectedly died from an enlarged heart at the age of 28. They enlisted the services of Portnoy to take over the drums while recording A7X's Nightmare album. After completing the record and supporting tour, Portnoy made the attempt to return to Dream Theater, which they declined, saying that they were already on the search for a new drummer. Enter Mike Mangini. Mike Mangini was famous for replacing Paul Geary in the band Extreme in 1995. By the time Mangini joined Dream Theater, however, the songwriting had already been completed. At that point, all the band did was send the completed tapes to Mangini so that he can lay down his own drum track, and "add his own shit too." The result is A Dramatic Turn of Events, released today. I honestly don't think they could have gotten anyone else to replace Mike Portnoy, as I feel that Mike Mangini is fitting in quite well. The main thing that I was worried about upon hearing about the release of this album was that Portnoy was one of the main songwriters in Dream Theater. Thankfully, the music did not suffer from Portnoy's departure, as A Dramatic Turn of Events is just as good as anything Dream Theater had come out with. Hell, I would say it's one of their best albums in years. With songs like "This is the Life," "Outcry," and the album's lead single and opening track, "On the Backs of Angels," it's hard to argue that point. If I had to introduce anyone to Dream Theater, this would be the album to start them off with. Definitely worth a listen.Thumbs up.
