Happy Birthday Mike!

A Sundae Drive working on 4/1/17 @ White Oak Music Hall

It has been said that Mike Medina is the hardest working drummer in Houston.  It is hard to argue with that.  The proof is when you see him play.  He has shown that if you practice, practice, practice, good things are the result.  I mean, he is the absolute proof that hard work and practice pay off.  There is not doubt about that.

I finally got to go see Cousin Mike perform with A Sundae Drive this weekend for their album release and was just blown away.  I am so glad to see Mike where he is now.  I am not meaning to take anything away from the rest of the band because they are all just as amazing.  It's a good fit that band.  I believe that Mike found a great group of people to play with. I don't get to go see Mike play too often, and for that I feel bad, but I wasn't going to miss this show for the world.  I am so very glad that I didn't.  I watched Mike closely, smiling...beaming a little, and just was glad to see him up there, continuing the dream of playing music and having fun.  It was a great night.

We don't get to hang out as much as we would like, I think, but a lot of that is on me. If only we lived a little closer to each other....well, we might be in trouble.  That would be a lot of beer consumed.   I do miss the hangs though.

To see where Mike is now, is so fucking awesome.  I know how much work he had put in.  Just to see where he is now from when we used to play in ZTZ is wonderful.  I am not saying that he was ever bad or anything like that, god no, but I think he is clearly on a different level that I will ever be.  He should be the embodiment of what one should strive for if you want to achieve a goal.  He has never stopped and always wants to improve.  You should be my inspiration.  I want to be like you when I grow up.

What more is there for me to say?  I am sure I can find more to brag on Mike about, but I just wanted to type up a few quick words on his birthday.  Keep up the great job Mike (and the rest of A Sundae Drive---Zeek, Jen, and Serg!) and I am going to try and catch you guys more often.  Hell, I am even trying to knock the rust off and play the ol' geetar more often.  Who knows, maybe one day soon we can even get a session in like old times?!?!  Happy birthday Mike.....I'm happy for you.

Me and Mike in 2011..need more pics together!  

Day one of the parks

It finally happened!  We ventured to the parks today.  Disney Animal Kingdom was first up.  Nice park and we got there early enough that there wasn't much hassle.  Most of the rides we did weren't that long a wait, 50 minutes at one of these massively visited parks is virtually nothing.  Seriously.

There was crying, more than once and not much money thrown around by us.  Raymond rode his first real roller coaster....and it went well.  I skipped out on it as I am not the biggest roller coaster guy, but Ruby and Grandpa went with him and he was as happy as could be.  Of course I wasn't really sure how it was going to go.  I figured he was either going to love it, or he would never ride another one again.  Safe to say, he will be riding more in the next few days.  On the way out of the park for the day, we stopped in one of the gift shops and Raymond found the shirt that said "I conquered Everest," which was the ride he rode.  We skipped out on it, but I have a feeling we will either get it here, or online for a little cheaper.  I think we almost have to.

Of course there was crying, and on more than one occasion.  It certainly appears that the girls are not down with getting wet at all at amusement parks.  We rode a "Thunder River" type ride (for those that know the now defunct Astro World), which is like the big tube like ride that you sit in with about 10 other people.  Well the girls all got it good.  They were not happy, while Grandpa and I barely got touched.  They crying seeming lasted an hour or so.  Oh, they got over it, but rest assured they will not get on another ride that involves water.

All in all, it wasn't as bad as I thought.  There is plenty more I could get too, but running short on gas at the moment.  I hope I got the jist of it out here.  (Below is the "Tree of Life"...it is massive and very cool looking, it is about 145 feet tall and about 50 feet wide)