Update This.

I've just updated the front page of my site with a link to this page, so now I will post a formal update.

The new job is going rather well. I work from 4:30pm to midnight Sunday through Thursday, which is basically a 12-hour shift from my old job's hours (4:30am to 12:30pm). The majority of the people that work at PlattForm are in their mid-20s, so it's a fun, energetic atmosphere. Again, completely different from the old job. Everyone is really cool, and the work is fun (if you like to edit like I do).

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Last week, a short film that I worked on took first place honors at the Kansas City Independent Filmmakers' Coalition "Page One" competition. For "Page One," directors were given a single page of simple dialogue from which to create a three-minute short film. The script was very non-specific, so it left a lot open to interpretation. Chris Gore, an editor from FilmThreat.com (I've never heard of it either), was the 'celebrity judge.' Ours won over 14 other competitors, a couple of which were pretty good. Click here to check out the site I made for "The Truth."

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Since the demise of Phish, I've been listening to a Chicago band named "Umphrey's McGee." The best way to describe them is Frank Zappa mixed with Phish mixed with trance. An odd combination, I know, but it works. They've been around for a few years and seem to be picking up momentum as of late, now that the jam band scene is without a well-known band at its forefront like Phish seemed to be.

My friend Dustin and I saw UM in Des Moines on August 20th. It was a relatively small crowd, but I couldn't help but think that it was probably close to what it was like at an early Phish show where you could easily get to within 20 feet of the band.

I am hoping to be able to fly to Chicago on October 8th to visit Dustin and see another Umphrey's McGee concert. It will be a very short stay, since I'd have to be back in KC by 1pm on Sunday to work later that night. Airfare is $58 one way, so that makes it easy.

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The Apple Store on the Plaza opens this Saturday, and being the Mac nerds we are, Sonja and I are going to try to get there early and be one of the first 1000 people to get a free shirt. (Apple also has a history of giving out iPods and other expensive gadgets at their store openings, so that's another reason we'll be there.) Plus, the Plaza Art Fair is this weekend, so we'll kill two birds with one stone while we're there.

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Someone hit Sonja's car Monday in the school lot and drove off. There's not a lot of damage, but a slightly dented panel and some white paint left on her driver's door was enough to ruin her day. She said she was parked at the end of a row in the brand new parking garage at JCCC, which was next to a row of handicap spaces that were perpendicular to her car, so our best guess is that a handicapped driver backed into it and drove off, knowingly or otherwise. Anyway, it could have been a lot worse, so it's just going to take a little time and energy to get it all taken care of.

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Amazingly, snarbles was updated the other day.

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That's all the news from Tornado Alley this morning. Oh, except for the fact that we have a bullet-sized hole in our front window downstairs. Our best guess is that a small rock was thrown up by one of the workers here while using a weedeater last week. Luckily, the glass is double-paned, and the hole is only in the outside pane. Supposedly there's a work order floating around to replace it, but who knows when that will be.