Howie Day - Collide

Definitely my song of the week! Such a great song, with such a simple guitar part! I guess a great song doesn't always have to be complex! Now I just have to find someone who can sing along with my guitar playing, because I SURE can't hit those notes!

~Alex S.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Well it's finally Spring Break (for my school at least)! I'm finally free from my classes for a week of fun and relaxation... But oh wait... There's a chance of rain every day this week! Oh well, I'm sure that break will still be fun, and at the very least, at least there's no school!

So I went to Youth Group tonight, and all the Core Team members, Mike, and Emma all told their stories about why they believe and how they got to be where they are today. I found it all very inspiring, and it really got me thinking; why do I believe in the things that I believe in? Is there a set reason to it? It's really a mind boggling question! Because on the one hand, there's the orthodox answer "because I like it", but then there's that nagging thought that there MUST be a deeper reason, right?

So I leave you with that thought. Why do you believe in the things you believe in? And if you come up with an answer like "I was raised that way", or "Because I like it", then I highly encourage you to look a little deeper into your heart and mind, and try to figure out specifically why you believe.

Peace be to you all!

~Alex S.

Why Are We Afraid In What We Believe?

I just got back from my weekly Youth Group meeting (where once again, Youth Band rocked the house), and I got to thinking, why are people so afraid to proclaim their religion? Shouldn't we be proud of what we believe? If we are proud, why do we constantly try to hide or diminish it?


I think that honestly, people are afraid of what other people think. You're probably thinking "well duh, THAT answer didn't require much thought", but bear with me here, I'll go into more detail on why I said this. People today, no matter where you live, or what religion you believe in, treasure other people's opinions of them more so then they care about what they believe. But in doing this, they are being hypocrites for the simple fact that if you don't believe in what you say you believe in, just because of what other people believe, then why DO you believe in the first place?


In order to believe something, you have to show that you believe. And again, I know what you're probably thinking "Well I don't want to be shoving my religion and beliefs down my friend's throats!", but that's not what I mean. What I mean is that you shouldn't hide it when people come looking for it. You should open up to them and say what you TRULY believe in.


As a Catholic, I TRULY, ABSOLUTELY believe that there IS a God, and that he loves us and wants us all to spend eternity with Him when we die. I believe that He sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to walk among us on Earth, and give us the skills we need to reach the eternal happiness of Heaven (not to mention he actually opened Heaven's gates in the first place). I believe in much more then that as well, but just because I believe it, doesn't mean YOU have to. The reason why I said what I believe the way I did was because I don't want to come across like I'm forcing anyone to believe anything, because it's not my place to do so.


So take some time, figure out what you believe. Maybe what you ACTUALLY believe isn't at all what you THOUGHT you believed. Maybe you don't really know what to believe, and if that's the case, don't feel discouraged, because I felt this same way for the longest time. Then I got to talking to other people about why they believed in the things they believed in, and I chose for myself what to believe.


If you take anything away from this blog entry, anything at all, remember this: you are the key to your own destiny. Only believe what YOU believe, and you will be infinitely happier and more willing to profess your beliefs, which hey, that's what believing is all about, right?


~Alex S.

School on a Saturday

Well today I took a driver's ed. course (courtesy of C.O.P.S. driving school)... It honestly was more like a common sense school. Everything about driving has and will always come naturally to me, so I kind of just sat back and enjoyed the ride. The awesome part is that I get three 2-hour sessions with a C.O.P.S. teacher, and I get to drive a Mini Cooper! How awesome is that! I get to use it for my driving test too, which is good, because the car is half the size of the space I'll need to parallel park in.

Not much else happened today... Was just a long day in a classroom! I'll just have to see if tomorrow can make up for it!

~Alex S.

One More Week!

I absolutly cannot wait for Spring Break! I don't know about any of the other schools around, but I know Cardinal Newman gets out for Spring Break, and I'm really pumped! This is a break that has been WELL overdue!

So anyways, I'm also pretty excited for next weekend, because I get to go and see my girlfriend perform in "Alice in Wonderland" at the Koger Center! She's been working really hard every day at dance along with the rest of the cast to get the acting and dancing down perfectly! I highly recommend everyone to go see it (tickets are available at the door). To say the least, I'm pretty jealous haha. Not because of the dancing, because ask anyone who knows me... I can't dance. But she gets to perform at a HUGE venue! The biggest venues I've performed at are Camp Gravatt and a beach-side restaurant in Destin, Florida. I couldn't possible be more proud of her though. :)

And in other news, I'm attempting to do a cover of Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). Needless to say, it's hard. I really want to take the song, and transform it into something that pulls at your heartstrings. Hopefully I'll be able to do it! Wish me luck!

~Alex S.

Pink - Perfect (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover) on iTunes (Donate to Victim...

Hey everyone, I just found this amazing cover by Boyce Avenue, and I decided to help promote it, especially since it's for a good cause. Every time someone buys this song off of iTunes, the profit will go to helping people in Japan. Give this song a listen, and if you feel like helping, please purchase this song and help the Japanese get back on their feet.

~Alex S.

Spring Forward!

It's hard to believe that it's already springtime! This year has just flown by at breakneck speeds! Before I know it I'll be on Spring Break, and then on Easter Break (my school split the two for some reason), and then onto Summer Break! I'm not going to lie though, I'm going to miss this school year once it's over. There, I said it, I'm going to miss school. This year has been full of new experiences for me, new classes, new teachers, new friends, a new girlfriend, new sports, new injuries (although that's pretty much an every year thing), and most importantly, a newfound faith in God.

Before this school year started, the last time I had gone to church was when I was 4. That's just about 11 years! But then this year started, and my friend persuaded me to join the Cross Country team (which I loved by the way), and I met this girl. I had known her name for ages because my family and hers traded our textbooks every year (she was the grade above me, then her sister was the grade below me, then my sister was the grade below her, etc.). Her and I started talking, and she eventually got me to come to the St. John Neumann Youth Group. This Youth Group has totally changed my outlook on life from one being all about having fun, to one being all about doing God's will. And yes, if you're wondering, that girl is currently my girlfriend.

It's crazy to just see how much I've put religion into my life since the beginning of this year. I've joined a Youth Group, and was nominated to represent us at the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) this coming November. I also helped in the formation of a Youth Band, which is steadily growing! I've also started consistently going to Church, and since I just got Confirmed, I decided to also become a Lector! At school, instead of taking the easy Sophomore Theology class, I signed up (and was accepted into) a Christian Leadership class, taught by my Youth Minister, the Director of Campus Ministry, and our school Priest, Fr. Kirby.

Wow, I wrote a lot more then I thought I would. Guess it all just had to come out at some point!

Peace,

~Alex S.

Something to Believe In

I have recently found a diamond in the rough, so to speak. Give this song a listen, because I am pretty sure you will enjoy it quite a bit! I heard it on a YouTube advertisement (kind of ironic), so I went searching for it. And now that I've found it, I can't stop listening to it!

In other news, my Youth Band blew away the crowd at Sunday's Open House! Apparently everyone loved us, and we even went so far as to emotionally move some people! And on top of that, we added two more people into the band, a drummer and a bassist, who I really think helped the band to put on that spectacular performance! Maybe it was God's way of helping us out, especially considering that one of our singers lost her voice...

Again, definitely check out Parachute's "Something to Believe In", because I guarantee that you will love it.

~Alex S.

I May Just Be Having a Freak Out

I don't think I've ever practiced so much for something in my entire life! What is this "thing" you may ask? Well, it's the Youth Group Open House this Sunday, where the Youth Band that I'm in is performing 4 songs. I'm really nervous, so I've been practicing during every spare second that I have! And it's only Tuesday! I'm sure we'll do great though, because it's a band full of extremely talented people.

Not much to write today, maybe more will come later or tomorrow!

~Alex S.

Camp Gravatt CIT!

I'm really excited for this summer! I'm finally moving up to be a CIT (Counselor In Training) at Camp Gravatt! It's really sad though that I have to leave life as a Camper behind, because those summers were the best of my life. But I'm pretty sure that being a CIT, a JC (Junior Counselor), and then hopefully a Counselor will be even better! I mean heck, once I'm a Counselor, I'll get PAID to go help at the Camp that I love so dearly all summer! I don't think that I could ask for a better job to be honest.


What I'm really excited about though, is learning all the Gravatt campfire songs on my guitar (yea, I had to relate this to the guitar SOMEHOW!), because out of the four years I've gone as a camper, I've only managed to learn one song! I've always loved campfire; it's one of my favorite times out of the entire day, and I think that actually playing the music all Gravatt campers hold so near and dear to their hearts will be amazing!


Being a CIT this summer is going to be so great. Just being on the property brings memories flooding back into my brain, and when you add in the fact that not only am I there, but I'll be seeing my friends and learning how to be a Counselor, it's just overwhelming. If you live anywhere in the South-East United States, I HIGHLY suggest taking a look at Camp Gravatt. It's a great place to go to just get away from everything, and to get a closer relationship with God.


~Alex S.

"If the human body is two-thirds water, how is it that we manage to spill water on only the one-third that's dry?"

^That is possibly one of the most insightful quotes I've ever heard off of America's Funniest Home Videos. It's so true though! I mean, if we're two-thirds water, how do we only spill water on the one-third that's dry? It's just a mystery of life I guess!


So anyways, I don't know about anyone else, but I had a really productive four-day weekend. I feel bad for all the non- Cardinal Newman students that I know though, since they had to go to school today to make up for that insane string of snow days. But over the course of this weekend I hung out with my girlfriend, diverted a stream, cleared out thousands and thousands of thorny vines, went to Youth Group (and performed with the Youth Band, but more on that later), and still managed to finish my Biology Project! Possibly the best four day weekend that I've had in a long time.


Sunday's Youth Group was a HUGE milestone for the Youth Band, since we finally were asked (by multiple people may I add) to perform not one, but TWO songs! Crazy right? One of the Youth Group members even said that they were "Dumbfounded with the performance; very, VERY moved and inspired by it"! Score one for Youth Band! And our Youth Minister, Mike even asked us to do a "mini-concert" on the night of the open house! Only hard part will be learning four new songs for that night, since we only have one Sunday left to practice. I think we can do it though, we're picking up the songs really quick as is. Eventually once we have learned enough songs, I'll put together a list of songs for everyone to see with lyrics and tabs if you want to try them out for yourself!


Question of the Day:
What liquid do YOU mostly spill on the one-third of yourself that's dry?

-Alex S.

Thank God it's Friday!

I love Fridays. Definitely one of my most favorite days of the week. Today was a special Friday though, because there was NO SCHOOL! It could not have been a more perfect day to not have to sit in a classroom all day; it was just around 70 degrees and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky! Tomorrow's going to be insane though, since I'm going to be completely alone all day (the family is going to my sister's volleyball tournament in Lexington). Oh well, gives me more time to play my guitar as loud as possible, and sing until the windows shatter!

-Alex S. 

Goo Goo Dolls - Iris (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)

I really love this song, and I think these guys perform it great! Maybe even better than the original? Thoughts?

Raspberry + Dark Chocolate = Amazing

Wow, I can officially say that I've fallen in love... With chocolate. Not just any chocolate, oh no. My parents got me a Valentine's Day gift (kinda weird really, but whatever) that was a bag of these Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Truffles. Oh my gosh, it's like Heaven in my mouth.

Anyways, I finally achieved my goal for being on the golf team this year! I shot under 50 on 9 holes (I ended up with a 48)! Now I'm back to where I was earlier this summer, so I guess things can only go up from here! And I have the entire rest of the school year to practice and get better! It really stinks though, because the lady who runs the course where we practice (it's a terrible course, and I would highly recommend NOT going there) won't let us play the course for free or hit range balls at all, even during practice! So I really have no idea how we're supposed to get better, but oh well, hopefully Coach will pull through for us! 

I'm actually going to have one more blog post today, I'm going to put up another Boyce Avenue cover that I really like. I would tell you what song they will be performing, but I haven't even picked which one to put up yet haha. So you will all have to go check it out, because face it, you're curious aren't you?

-Alex S.

P.S. I decided to try a new font today, mix things up a little! Tell me what you think!

"Rock me mama like a wagon wheel, rock me mama any way you feel"

I have a new love for this song. If anyone doesn't know the title, it's called "Wagon Wheel", and it's actually a pretty good song! I first heard it at my beloved Camp Gravatt, and I kind of forgot about it until earlier today, when a friend brought it up again. So being the curious musician I am, I went home and looked up guitar tabs for the song. And they couldn't possibly be easier! And the best part is that I can sing the song without too much trouble! Which normally doesn't happen with me...

In other news, my Youth Band finally performed at a Youth Group session, and according to the people that were listening, we were really good! Everyone was in sync, and we even got the crowd singing! Which is difficult, especially considering how many people my Youth Group hate to sing out loud! The only flaw was that in the lyrics that we passed out, there was a typo made by the people who wrote the song, and there were some extra lines in the last chorus. That DEFINITELY got us some weird looks, but oh well, we did extremely well! Congratulations everyone in Youth Band!

And since we're on the topic of Youth Group, I'll close with one of my favorite Bible Verses:
"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" Philippians 4:13.

~Alex S.

"Don't Stop Believing"!

I've always loved this song. Something about the lyrics just strikes me right in my very core. And I know I'm going to probably get slaughtered for saying this, but I actually like a cover of "Don't Stop Believing" by Boyce Avenue as much as (maybe even more than) the original song by Journey! I'll post both of the videos side by side so you can compare for yourself! Leave a comment and tell me which one you like better!

 By Journey          

 By Boyce Avenue

 Leave a comment and let me know which YOU think is better! Let the battle commence!

-Alex S. 

Back to Being Busy

I never really realized how much I loved the free time that I had until I lost it all this week. Not that I'm complaining, because I love golf (yea, just in case I hadn't mentioned this before hand, I'm on the golf team). I just have ABSOLUTELY no time to do my homework, let alone play guitar!

So therefore, I'm still trying to figure out how to play that Boyce Avenue cover of Drops of Jupiter. It's really hard for me, because I fail at muting strings. I'll get it eventually though! This is definitely the hardest I've ever worked on a song, and it's really paying off. Every day I get closer to nailing the entire song, and once it's done, it's going to feel great!

Here's what the song will (hopefully) eventually sound like when I play it:

Wish me luck; I'm going to need it!

-Alex S.

Half of My Heart - John Mayer & Taylor Swift (Boyce Avenue & Savannah Ou...

I love Boyce Avenue, so I thought I might as well share them with you!

"Tell me, did you sail across the sun?"

I'm sure pretty much everyone reading this has heard of the song "Drops of Jupiter" by Train. If you haven't, I HIGHLY suggest looking it up. The song has an amazing mood about it, and while it's a sad song (especially if you know the background and inspiration of the song), it has a lively beat to it. It's this sad, melodic tone that is very hard to capture when combined with the upbeat tempo.

If you haven't guessed already, I'm attempting to learn the song "Drops of Jupiter". But I'm actually not just using the chords that are for the original song. I'm actually using the music for the Boyce Avenue cover version! (Again, I highly suggest you look it up). The guys of Boyce Avenue sing this song so well that it's almost better than when Train does it! And it takes a lot for me to say this, especially considering that I'm a huge Train fan!
The song itself is very difficult to play, since it contains a lot of muted strings that I seem to constantly hit with my pick right when I'm having trouble actually MUTING them. I'll get it eventually! I have wanted to learn this song from the day I first heard it, so I'm not going to give up on this one too easily!

Moving off on a different note, I'm thanking God that it's Friday! Is it just me, or did this week just not seem to want to end? I mean DANG! It feels like it should be summer already (and by my watch, it SHOULD be summer right about now)! Hopefully the weeks ahead fly by extremely fast, because I am really tired of school right now. I mean, seeing friends is great and all, but when every class is so easy that even I can sleep through it? Something's wrong there.

Oh well. Oh, and on one last note, I will restate the fact that you SHOULD MOST DEFINITELY GO CHECK OUT BOYCE AVENUE'S COVER OF DROPS OF JUPITER!! There, I bolded and underlined it for you!

-Alex S.

A Post With No Name

Ok, it's late, and I really can't think of any clever titles for this post. Cut me some slack.

Anyways, I had my first golf practice for school today. It was great, and I did great... until we started playing an actual round... Oh well, there's plenty more days to come! I mean hey, if I'm going to be playing every day of the week until the end of the school year, I guess that I'm bound to get better!

It's been a really weird week though, all my assignments piling on top of each other, along with my Confirmation (which happened on Tuesday, and was AMAZING!). Then having golf practice after school has left me with practically no free time at all. But that's ok, that's why someone invented the idea of Study Hall! That portion of my day has definitely been my saving grace this past week; it's really helped me keep my head on straight!

Pretty short post today, but I'm really tired, and I have to finish writing a speech for school (fun stuff right?), so I'll write a longer one later, because I know EVERYONE reading this thoroughly enjoys my writing... Right?

-Alex S.

These next couple days have only one word that can describe them... INSANITY

Man, it seems like I just keep getting busier and busier as the school year goes on! It's absolutely insane how little time I have anymore for even the little things like blogging to all you good people out there. This week especially has been crazy. I had a retreat for my Confirmation all day on Saturday, Youth Group all day today, and then tomorrow I have Confirmation Practice, and then I actually get CONFIRMED on Tuesday. Sorry, I think I just absolutely rambled on in that sentence. Oh well, you get my point.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm really excited to finally be getting Confirmed! I feel like I'm just about to take my first full steps into the real Catholic Church, and boy, let me be the first to tell you that it feels pretty dang awesome! I think that the part that really defined the entire experience for me was when I was doing my personal thinking about which Saint's name I would want as my own. Let me tell you, I thought about this FOR EVER! Because you want to pick a Saint who you really want to try and model your life after, and if you don't pick the right one now, you'll be sorry later! So I thought and I thought, and I finally settled upon a pretty cool Saint. His name is Saint Thomas Aquinas. In a nutshell, he's the scholar of the bunch. He is one of the more famous Saints, mostly because of all the different things he wrote about the Church.

But anyways, moving away from my personal Confirmation story, I just want to talk about some music really quick. I've always found that music is a way of expressing myself in ways where words can't. I say this because even now, a few days after the fact, it's hard to write about this. Just this past Tuesday, one of my former teachers died from a heart attack. What does this have to do with music, you ask? Well this teacher was the one who got me started playing the guitar, playing the piano, and just being an all-around geek. He was the kind of guy who you could go to for anything, and he would be able to help. He was kind and fair to every single person he came across, and he treated everyone like family, even if he had just met someone ten minutes ago. Practically everyone that had him as a teacher loved him, along with everyone who just met him in passing.
Well recently, because of this news, my music has become slightly more sad sounding, which I'm sure will dissipate over time though. It's a weird sound of music that I have never before heard from my guitar. I honestly didn't even know that the guitar was capable of making such sad sounds as these. So my point is that your emotions really DO have an effect on the way you play.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this entry, long and drawn out as it may be. Follow, comment, etc. etc., and I'll see everyone back here on my next post

R.I.P. Mr. Cell. We'll miss you.

-Alex S.

It's Been Crazy!

Man, I haven't posted a blog post in a while now! Oh well, it feels good to be back. Things have been so hectic around here: endless projects and tests, and on top of those, I have Confirmation stuff from Saturday to Tuesday when I actually get Confirmed. It will be worth it though. I've been trying so hard lately to get my religious life back in order, and I see Confirmation as my finish line. I say "finish line" not in the sense that I'm going to give up after that, but that it's the end of me having to try to love God. After this, I think I'll have the skills that I need to coast smoothly along.

I definitely think that being in a band with other members of my Church Youth Group helps a lot. It basically combines religion with something I love: music! And I NEVER thought I would say this, but the Christian music that we play is really good! Something about the melody gives the music an awe-inspiring tone, which i absolutely adore. Best part is that many of the songs are in my vocal range (which doesn't happen often!), so I can easily sing along while I play, which just makes the experience that much better.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm terrible at singing, so any tips that anyone is willing to offer would help greatly. I've got a couple questions for anyone who reads this.
1.) What do you think of Christian Music? Do you like it? Do you find it inspiring?
2.) Is it possible to take an AWFUL singing voice and teach it to sing? [More of a personal question]

Thanks for reading everyone!

-Alex S.

Inspiration Comes in the Oddest of Places

Wow, I can't believe that I finally got that song put together. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in the last post or not (I'm pretty sure I did), but for all those who haven't read that one, I finished writing my first performance-worth song the other day. Where did I get the inspiration for the song you may ask? Nowhere really, the idea just popped into my head, so I did it!

This whole experience has been crazy, full of ups and downs, but it's been awesome. Definitely something I'm looking to do again soon. All through this time though, I've actually been reflecting on a Bible Verse that helped me believe that I could do it. The verse goes like this: "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). Pretty inspirational, right?

Now comes the hardest part of writing a song: getting other people's takes on it. I hate playing music in front of people (I know, that's probably a bad thing since I play the guitar), but I hate playing my own material in front of anyone. But once that's over with, if they say it's good enough, I may just get it copyrighted. Who knows, I may just have a career in music yet!

-Alex S.

Good lyrics, they're a dime a dozen, but great lyrics, well, they're something else entirely

Well today has been an extremelly productive day in terms of my inner musician! I finally wrote a full, complete song that I think is worthy of other people's ears! And, not to float my own boat, but it's a pretty awesome song. The lyrics by themselves mean pretty much nothing at all, but when put with the music, well.. They still mean practically nothing, but it's a good song in my opinion! And the best part is that it can only get better from here!

-Alex S. (a content musician)

A Very Good Sunday

Well, I definitely couldn't have asked for a better Sunday. Hung out with my best friend most of the day, then went to band practice for Youth Group. I know what you're thinking here, "A Youth Group band? How is that fun?". Well believe me, the other band members and musical director are amazing. Honestly, band practice is my favorite part of every Sunday! Great company, great music, and praising my God all at the same time! Who could ask for more?

I finally got to put my new guitar to good use! This was the first time that I ever brought it to a band practice, and believe me, it made all the difference! We sounded so much better now that my Alvarez was up to par with the other guitars that were playing. We actually got another vocalist too, so we have some very good harmonies going on as well!

So all in all, a VERY successful Sunday!

-Alex S.

Here Comes the Sun!

Ahh, finally a day where I can walk outside and not slip on seemingly invisible patches of ice! All the South Carolina snow (and ice) is beginning to melt, and I couldn't be happier! Snow is great, but it gets old really fast. Best part of today: it's not only dry and snow-free, but its also a decent temperature!

I've began to branch out a bit, because for the first time, I tell you that I'm NOT playing the guitar at the moment! In fact, I'm playing the piano. I'm trying to learn a really good song by the band Five For Fighting called "100 Years". It's a song that pretty much everyone has heard at one point or another. Sad thing is that right after it came out, another one of their songs "Superman" became extremely popular, dwarfing the song's popularity. It's really difficult for me to play this song, so I'm going to be working on this for some time!

If you haven't heard the song, give it a listen at some point. I'm sure you'll find it both a good song and very motivational.

-Alex S.

10 Day Weekends are Great!.... When You're not on Lockdown!

Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not complaining in any way about being out of school. It's just that this VERY long weekend hasn't been too terribly fun, considering the day after it snowed, a thick layer of ice formed over top... Now I'm pretty much trapped inside my house, forced to write blog entry after blog entry! And since I'm writing them, you're forced to read them! Mwahahaha.

Now, before I go any farther, I want to brag about a friend of mine, David Arias. He is an outstanding musician, and is a great songwriter. Please, anyone and everyone reading this blog post, go check out his blog at http://ariasaudio.tumblr.com/. There's a sample of a song he wrote a little while ago, and it's really good.

Well, that's about it, I'm going to go play my brand new Alvarez (still have not gotten over the shock of what an amazing guitar it is)! Like usual, leave a comment, follow my blog, and keep checking back for more posts!

-Alex S.

Snow, Ice, Sleet; and all in South Carolina!

Wow, I don't think I've EVER seen it snow like this in South Carolina! The school board has even gone so far as to cancel school for the rest of the week! So basically I've had a weekend since Friday afternoon of LAST week! And then I have this Monday off too!

It's not actually that fun to go outside anymore, because the snow has been frozen over by a thick layer of ice... I mean really, who wants to have a snowball fight when there's shards of ice in the snowball? I know I don't... But oh well, less school work for me I suppose. More time to get some more songs under my belt on the guitar too!

Just over this EXCEPTIONALLY long weekend, I've learned two more songs (both very simple). The songs "Calling All Angels" and "Hey Soul Sister"; both of which are by Train. "Calling All Angels" is possibly the easiest song I have ever learned to play, but it's a song that has personal value to me, since I've been listening to it since I was little. "Hey Soul Sister" was also easy, but the strumming pattern is hard to get down, since you're essentially playing a hybrid of the guitar and the other small guitar he's playing (not really sure whether it's a mandolin or a ukulele).

Well I hope all of you have had a good week so far! I know I have! You know the usual, leave a comment, follow my blog, and keep checking back for more new posts!

-Alex S.

Global Warming? Nahhh

Whoever came up with global warming obviously hasn't been to South Carolina. I swear, ever since that theory because universally known, SC has gotten cooler and cooler each year. I mean take today for example! It was the second time in two months it has snowed and stuck! And the weather reports even say that it still may be here tomorrow too (can you say no school)!

But anyways, today was a great day; got to sleep in, got to hang out with my best friend all day in the snow, went sledding, attempted to make a snowman, went ice golfing and bowling (very fun, it comes highly recommended), and now I'm drinking an excellent cup of hot chocolate! :)

So to all my South Carolina friends reading this post (probably not many), have fun in the snow (even though now it's more like ice)! And pray that we won't have school tomorrow, because I really don't want to finish my History homework.

As always, leave a comment, follow my blog, and keep checking back for new posts!

-Alex S.

Hooray Weekends!

First off, just let me say THANK GOD FOR FRIDAYS!! Friday afternoons especially! It's such a great feeling, one almost of freedom to say, "Heck yea! I just made it through a tiring week of school, and now I get my reward!"

So being the geek I am, I finally hooked up my new monitor, keyboard, and mouse to my laptop so I can sit at a desk when I'm on the computer. And yes, before you ask, those were Christmas presents. They're really helpful though, because now I have a bigger screen, a faster keyboard, and an ACTUAL mouse (not just a trackpad)! Very helpful for these blog posts too haha.

So apparently there is a slight chance of it snowing here yet again on Monday, and I am praying with all my might that it happens. I mean, the snow is great and all, but getting the day off of school is even better (in my opinion). And if it DOES snow, that will be the first snowfall of 2011 (hopefully not the LAST snowfall of 2011). So if you happen to remember this when you're saying a prayer, pray for it to snow in South Carolina!

So all the normal announcements; leave a comment, follow my blog, and check back often for more blog posts! And here's a tip, to make it easier to check back with my blog, bookmark this page! That way you can just go to your 'Favorites' tab and come directly back here!

Thanks everyone,
-Alex S.

Phew, Thank God For Weekends!

Man this week seems to be taking forever to go by! And I only just got off Christmas Break this past Tuesday! But I guess that's why God made weekends; to give people a break from the stresses of the week.

So I came to find out some saddening news today at school (saddening for me at least). The men's tennis team, which I have been on since the sixth grade, now has only 3 members, myself included... Why is men's tennis such a neglected sport? I mean, I know that everyone and their mother seems to think that it's a girly sport that really requires no talent at all, but that's defiantly not the case. It actually requires a lot more finesse then people actually realize. But enough of that, no ranting for me tonight.

Anyways, I'm still loving my new guitar. The built-in tuner is so handy! Before, all I had was a really bad tuner, that caused a lot of headache and popped strings, but now I don't even have to balance a tuner on my guitar, because it's built right into the side of it! The thing looks like a dang control panel off of an alien spaceship! It's got so many knobs and buttons and lights all over it, most of which I haven't even used yet because I haven't needed to hook up to an amp yet.

Well that's all for today. I hope all of y'all are having a good week so far, but if you aren't, you can make it even better my commenting, following, and continuing to check back to see if I've made a new post! :)

Alex S.

Happy New Year!

Wow, 2011 already! Only one more year till we all perish in the apocalypse. Haha, just kidding, I don't believe in that sort of stuff.

But anyways, I hope everyone had a really great New Year's celebration! Personally, I went to a party, so that was pretty fun. No fireworks though, since it was really foggy and nasty outside, so that was kind of a bummer. I did get to play my guitar though (yes, I brought my guitar to a New Year's party, get over it). Got a lot of compliments on the new guitar about how it looked and sounded, so that's always a good sign. Apparently now everyone at the party wants free concert tickets... YEA RIGHT...

Anyways, hope everyone had an amazing 2010, and an amazing New Year's celebration! That's all I have for right now, so I"ll see everyone next time! Comment, Follow, and keep checking back for more blog posts!

-Alex S.