New Year, New Jam
I've been learning Boston's "Foreplay" on the keys (so Micah, Cliff, Brad, and I can rock it out), so I created a funky jam to relieve a little stress (Foreplay ain't easy *snicker*). You can find it many places:
www.virb.com/mattulrich
www.myspace.com/mattulrich
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6614417606
The rhythm track (everything that's not keyboards) was created in Reason, and the rest came from my lovely Nord Electro 2 and my mind/fingers. Most of it is pretty unpolished, but I suppose that's what jamming is all about. Hopefully you enjoy it!
Psalm 139 (NIV)
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
and abhor those who rise up against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Thank You, Christian School :)
Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!
Just Wondering
I've really wanted to be a better blogger lately, but I've got to know the answer to one question first: Does anyone actually ever read this?
Updates…yay!
For those of you reading this at blog.mattulrich.com, you may notice a few minor updates. I finally figured out how to get the archives to display with a drop-down box rather than a lengthy list of every month of posts since this blog opened. I also finally updated to 2.2.3 from 2.0.7. 2.3 will be out soon, so hopefully that'll come shortly. I think if I ever get some time, I want to do a complete redo of my entire website, basing it primarily around this blog, and using WordPress' page creation ability for any other content I desire to add. But let us be honest...you don't really care about the technical jargon. You just want a good end-user experience. Well, let me tell you: that's what I'm aiming at.
Boring.
Hi. It's me again. That's right, another post less than 24 hours after the previous one. The way a blog should be, at least if it wants to attract and retain readers...if you ask me. But seriously, don't ask me, because I obviously don't practice what I preach. Anyway, I'm bored. I probably should just go to bed, but as you learned in the last post, that probably won't happen (although I am laying on my stomach on the bed while typing this, and I occasionally find myself laying my head down and closing my eyes while still typing). Let's run over everything I did today. First I woke up around 9:15. Then I showered and got ready for work. Then I went to work at 10. From noon to 2, Micah, Cliff, Eric, and I practiced in the sanctuary for a wedding reception we're playing at on Sunday afternoon. Then I worked some more until almost 5. Following that, I returned home to Pastor Mick's house and killed some time doing whatever kills time. A little before 7, I headed over to East Side Middle School to watch the Highland High School beat whoever it was that they played. There were a number of East Side people there. At halftime, I went to get some dinner at Taco Bell (don't tell). After the game, I came back home and hung out with Micah for a while before finding myself right here on the computer, contemplating whether I should currently be in bed asleep. (Here's a gap of time for when I put my head down after typing "asleep.") I kind of want to watch an episode of Arrested Development, but I'm not sure it wouldn't be smarter to just go to bed. Tomorrow I'm having lunch with Eryn Bowser, and in the evening, I'm going over to the Stuckey house for my belated birthday dinner with them. I think we're eating Italian, but I'm not sure what sort of dessert we're having because when Gina asked me what I wanted, I was pretty indecisive. I'm sure it will be great.
Ok, I think I must call it quits on this one and hit the sack. My head is currently down, and that is giving me great troubles while trying to type correctly.
Peace to you, my brethren and sistren.
Matt Ulrich (not #69 for the Colts)
So Just Breathe
It's funny really. Every time I'm up way too late, I usually end up getting the song "Breathe (2AM)" by Anna Nalick stuck in my head. Then what usually happens is that I look at the clock and find that it is, indeed, just about 2 in the A.M. Weird, I know. You know what else usually happens when I'm up way too late? I start thinking about what little sleep I will be getting even if I were to go to bed immediately, and it makes me feel worse because I know I'll feel exhausted tomorrow. Then when I wake up in the morning, I find that I was right about how I'd feel. It's a pretty vicious cycle, and to be honest, I'm not much of a fan. There's something to be said about staying up late if there's a reason such as work that needs to be done, friends that need to be talked to or hung out with, or an indefinite (but definitely late) wake-up time. Anyway, here I find myself once again in the same situation. If there wasn't Wi-Fi where I'm currently living, I'd have been dead to the world for a few hours by now, but alas, I find myself distracted. I actually wish that was the case. I usually can't seem to pull myself away in a timely manner, and tonight is no different.
Anyway, since I hadn't blogged in a while, I thought I'd stop in and say hi. I am currently living with Pastor Mick (my worship pastor and boss) while I make some life decisions, including one regarding where to live. I've been enjoying a summer of playing country music with Cook and Belle and working at the church. I was recently reminded by a commenter on this blog that I had made a list of everyone I could think of who was engaged (found in my October 15, '06 post). That list had, I believe, 13 people on it, and I do believe most, if not all, of them are now married. Also married are some other people who I did not include in the list either because I didn't know they were engaged at the time or I simply couldn't remember them while writing the list. I could get all emo and cry about how I'm still single and really not content with it, but I won't. You probably are thanking me for not going there, which means we are becoming closer and friendlier. (If that's the case, and you're a single, attractive female, call me.)
That is all. Must...go...to...bed. Night.