Ok, I know I said it was my last week on night. Well, it turns out that I am not as powerful as I thought I was. I guess there really is a corporate ladder and let's just say, I don't have a good view. So, like an acoholic pleading for one more drink, Creative Group asked me to work one more week at night and I agreed like the friendly baretender that can't say no. So personal life, I will see you next Monday.

Thomas, i´m so fired up that you have made it through ¨post production bootcamp.¨ congrats! to say the least. it was also great to hear how the bela fleck show went. thanks for the story. Tena has been great, and it has been raining everyday which has kept the temps in check. It turns out that rob´s roomate from hood river, OR is half Ecuadorian. And is one of the whitewater pioneers, along with a hand full of other guys, in the country. To say the least Gynner is a great guy and real asset to hang out with. Not only does he seem to know everyone, but he has also given us a lot of great information about rivers in the region. So as the stroy goes, a friend of his took a job bartending at a jungle lodge for a while and Rob, Gynner, and myself have moved into his house for the month. As we were making breakfast this morning, and listening to music over tea it really hit me how nice it is to be out the hostel. i knew the house was right when i was looking at a few of himae´s frig photos i noticed a picture of Andrew a few years ago. small world right? We have been having a lot of great adventures over the past week, and to avoid repeating myself, i will try to highlight a few stories at www.teamswain.blogspot.com. Today, a few of us are going back to baeza for the Quijos river festival and to try to run a few rivers that we didn´t have the opportunity to get on last week. i love you all very much. chow!

Last night was a great night for Claudia and I. The boys as their Christmas gift to us had given us tickets to the Pops Series of the Nashville Symphony to hear them in concert with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. We ate dinner at home so that we could be at TPAC on time for the Concert. We arrived in plenty of time and found our seats. They were great seats in the balcony in the middle. The Symphony came out an performed four songs which were great classics, "Unforgettable" by Nate King Cole, the theme from Austing Powers which is a Quincy Jones song, the main song from the movie "Casablanca" and one other I cannot remember but remembered I liked. The guest Conductor for the night was a neat man who is the Conductor of the Honolulu Symphony. He is a gifted pianist in his own right and played a solo in the Quincy Jones Song. He is filling in since the death of Kenneth Schemerhorn the Conductor of the Nashville Symphony last fall. He then left the stage and the hall went dark. Then you heard the whale of electric bass guitar as it slowly comes on the stage, soon followed by the sound of a saxaphone, a synthesizer and then the banjo of Bela Fleck. It was a great evening of music. To try and define Bela Fleck's music as any kind of music would do it a disservice. Claudia and I really enjoyed the performance of all the talented members of this group and especially Bela. At the end of the ending he told the crowd that this was the third performance of the group after taking a year off from performing. After the performance we went out for desserts at the Cheesecake Factory. What a great evening!!! Thanks!

I'm finally off working nights in One Week!!! My dues have been paid. My personal life can return.

Great to Hear from you Jay!!!

This is my official entrance into the blog world and I have to say I thought it would be warmer. Seriously, what a fun way to keep in touch. I am still cracking away in the big apple (side note: I learned the other day that the phrase "big apple" stems from the times of heavy mob activity in New York. Mob bosses would say they loved the city like a big apple. I don't know what that means, but hey, they're mob bosses. Besides working nights right now at a post production company, I am free-lance editing at ABC Film and Video. Basically, I edit trailers for their films and other projects. It's tiring, but not bad. Sometimes it feels good to know your struggeling for something worth wild, whether it be a trip, a better job, an opportunity, or simply a self goal. Since I am writing this at 1:45 in the morning, I probably should finish work. I love you all and I will talk to you soon. Jay.. Go get in it!