Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life"
Don't ask me why I put that there.
But after watching the DVD, I found something funny to finally put on the blog...
I trust that all and all had a great summer! Da Kat unda the Kangol cap's summer ended on a great note, and an even bigger realization:
No more school.
All I hear and read about now are my friends still in school. One has one more semester left, another has a couple of years to go; in fact, some of my co-workers have already started the fall semester. Meanwhile, I no longer have those problems. I no longer have to grudge to some educational institution three, four, and five times a week so I can graduate and make my parents happy. I feel left out, somehow. But to hell with that, I have finally done it...
And now have some free time!
So, what does a college graduate do in his free time?
After a year and change at GreenPoint, I've been finally granted all my perks, and an option to go full-time. And while I must enter the full-time real world sooner or later, I'm refraining from doing so now; primarily because of my new quest: CPA status. From here with a degree in accounting, there's no other step to take than becoming a certified public accountant. So now, I'm taking review courses at Hunter (and therefore, have not totally freed myself from Hunter) on the weekends. Furthermore, I plan to take the Business and the Financial Accounting/Reporting parts to the test some time in November. And how much is this venture costing me?
Review courses - $1700; well I get to take them however I want, and to retake the course is only $100.
Exam - $345 registration fee; $125 exam fee; Auditing/Attestation $134.50; Business $100.50; FAR $126; Regulation $109.
Grand Total - $2640
Like, couldn't I have went to school for another degree or something with that cash!?!? When they talk about barriers to entry, they really weren't kidding! Well, so much for the car...
Aside from that venture, I gather all the rest I've lost from the five years I've been going to Hunter. And believe me, that's a lot of rest to regain. My iPod is still going strong, and guess what...
Uptown Girl
Conroy Smith
Reggae Penthouse Classics II
I finally got the song! About a week after the last post, someone finally put the song up on the network for download. May God bless the soul who put the song up on that network! The way I talk, you would think I spend most of my time dowloading hard to find music! Well, not quite all of my time...
** lol **
Now, I begin my search for my next track, When You Love Somebody, by Craig T. Cooper.
Okay, music man! What have you done this August that you haven't dropped a line in almost a month!?!
Glad you asked...
The Changing of The Vanguard
In the blockbuster move of the summer, and the year for that matter, I finally upgraded my laptop to the new PowerBook G4, with a 1.33GHZ processor, 60GB hard drive, 768MB RAM, but no DVD burner. My reason for not going all the way with this 12" laptop was due to the fact that there are faster burners out there, and I would want one that I can work with not just my machine, but my house desktop as well. As you can tell, I have even customized my computer in light of my latest DVD acquisition. And I still say that Miami Vice had better be next!
Your Ways
The Jacksons
Triumph
But the real story here is my victory over temptation. And the temptation was to buy the new 4th Generation iPod. And it was so strong, they (Apple) were offering it in a package; Buy an Apple Laptop over $1200 in value along with an iPod, and get $200 back. And with my educational discount, I literally get my iPod for free, and pay full price for the laptop. And it seemed like an awesome idea! My mother, despite her warnings, was almost certain that I was heading to SoHo and coming back with another iPod.
But something happened.
Saturday at work was a bit hectic; so much so, I got to the store in time to watch it repair my iPod and close up! On Sunday, after the first day at CPA review, I went back to the Apple Store determined to get the laptop. While still pensive on the iPod, I went in hesitant, even debating to hold on to my money for something else. Then, the unthinkable: I sit at the Genius Bar, looking at my future expenses, and have deemed buying this iPod frivolous and unproductive. Frivolous? Unproductive? The way I praise these things, I must have lost it, right? Katz, it just came to the point where if I can hold on to a couple of pennies, than that's what I outta do. But, God has always found a way for everything, right? So I should be able to buy this iPod, and still make it right? And at that point, I reverted back to my old self again. Suddenly, buying it was rational, even logical.
While still waiting for my G4 at the genius bar, several customers were there waiting for their iPods to be repaired/replaced. I became inquisitive and started asking around. It turns out there was/is and audio flaw in them that plays the sound distortedly. You would think it was one or two people with the problem; it turned out to be almost everyone waiting on an iPod at the Genius Bar. If that didn't become a hinderance on my final decision, I don't know what did. And with those people still waiting at the Bar, I left the Apple Store with my new laptop. That was it. I finally whipped temptation in the butt! And I felt good about it on the way home. The logic now is that with the iMac G5's out, there's gonna be a better iPod in the future. So, while I sit on my $1000 leather chair at some CPA firm, I'll be jammin to that new iPod.
And with that, I am contented once again.
Something of thought: is it enough to be content? We can be happy, but it will never last; we always want something in order to satisfy a level of happiness. But what if one reaches the level of content, where no matter what, they're satisfied? Can one live off that content? Is it really better to reach a level you can enjoy for a small amount of time, or is it better to live at point that lasts a lifetime? One would guess it depends on what kind of person you are. Enough meditation, on to the rest of August...
The CD 101.9 JazzFest 2004
I wanted to go to all three, On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But I had work on Saturday, and Sunday was the Irie Jamboree. Alas, there was only Friday, and that one day was all I needed. Because heading the event for Friday: Regina Belle, David Sanborn, and Al Jarreau.
I left work around 4PM, and headed to Central Park around 5:30PM. After waiting unnecessarily at a line for about 5 minutes, I finally got to get inside, find a seat to the mid-right of the stage, and enjoy the festivities. En route, I met a CD 101.9 photographer, taking shots of a nearby Chrysler car. Still in my suit, the guy asked me if I can pose with the car. Awkward, I agreed and stood for a couple of shots. Then, getting two for the price of one, the guy got me to pose with a nearby Chrysler SUV. I was very polite throughout, and he was just as grateful...
Regina Belle
There was one dude named Mr. Latham in which Regina dedicated one of her songs to, because they had such a great long history together. Strangely enough, there was a Mr. Latham at my old Junior High school that I was almost certain was the same Latham. In an attempt to prove my point, Latham took a little bow when she called him out; then all of a sudden, I yelled McKinney!, hinting back to Susan Smith McKinney, my old JHS. He looked around, to see who made the comment; and I was too far away to be seen. At least I know that the dude has gotten around since 10 years ago...
In any event, her performance was pretty good. She not only entertained us with her new and old tunes, but she even entertained by interacting with her backup singers, as well as her ponytail that she "pinned to her hair." I don't think I was supposed to say that though...
Big-ups have got to go to Brent Carver, one of Regina's backups who did A Whole New World with her. And he held his own with her; and actually shined the entire performance. All in all, good session, not outstanding, but good.
Rating: 8.5/10
David Sanborn
There is absolutely nothing I can't say about the ability of David Sanborn. I have never seen so many yuppies (no pun intended) jump up and dance to his jazz music like they did that night. But they had good reason: his performance was electrifying. From his great hits like Chicago Song and Savannah, to some of his recent music like Benny, Come Back Home and As We Speak. I got to take some pictures while he performed, and he seems like a cool guy. So much so, after the performance, I got to help his mother and sister walk to the backstage area; in which he was thankful for my assistance. Imagine that, David Sanborn said thanks to me. Whoa.
Okay, outstanding performance, from start to finish.
Rating: 9.5/10
Al Jarreau
Okay, so this one is going to be a little bit biased, considering that I actually came to see Al Jarreau, and got everyone else as part of the package. You know this, because of the autograph you scrolled past to get to this point. But nonetheless, I'll try to come to the point.
There was not a song he performed that I didn't know. From Route 66, to Take Five, to I Will Be Here For You. I was singing along to everything! Even After All and Boogie Down played; and if I may say so myself, I was even showing up some of the forty & fiftysomethings out there!
Groovin' High
Al Jarreau
Accentuate The Positive
Al Jarreau at his best. Not just at the performance, but with his new album. I recommed this one to all jazz lovers.
Going back to the performance, I mean, this guy is just such a great showman. I may have forgot the closing song, but I do remember half the crowd (myself included) calling for an encore. And one to please his fans, he came back! And what song did he close out with? Of course, Roof Garden!
After several attempts, I only got two good shots of him performing. And no, it's not my camera; it's the fact that Jarreau moves his body five movements a second! So after the performance, I waited near the backstage area to catch one good shot of him. As luck would have it, the lighting was very poor, and it was noted that Jarreau would not allow flash photography, so there went that one. On the flip side of that luck coin, I caught up with the photographer from earlier on in the day, who was taking pictures for the CD 101.9 website. I pulled him over, pulling out my $12 '04 JazzFest T-Shirt, and asked for a miracle. Two minutes later...
That happened.
Then, moments later...
I left Central Park, and headed to BBQ's one happy Kat.
Rating: 10/10
Wow, it took forever to finish this one post. Next time, I'll discuss Irie Jamboree, and the West Indian Day parade, amongst other stuff.
Later...