Happy Day!!!!

This made my day so much better!

Steve Gray @ The Desert Dome

So,

I say so a lot. Just noticed that. Anyway, on base at the Desert Dome there is the Steve Gray Band which will be out here for two months. A mix of artists from a recording drummer, Steve Gray obviously, experienced lead guitarist. They do covers and some originals of everything from Rock, Rap to Country. I didn't get to stay and listen much, but they seemed pretty good. The Dome set them up with a Allen & Heath GL3300. That's funny since we (Life Church) just sold a GL3200. Anyway, it wasn't their board (The Bands) so they were at a slight disadvantage. On top of this their sound guy was actually their Roadie and Manager. More of a light guy then anything.

So anyway, I chit chatted with themfor a little bit (the area is kind of dead right now) and looked over the equipment for a bit. Looks like they started out with good intentions. When I came back later after they had started, the sliders were all maxed out, meters were barely moving and everything but the bass guitar sounded good. I was thinking about offering my help, but I thought that might be a little bit rude especially since that's what those guys do for a living.

Anyway, I would say check Steve Gray Band out. They looked like a pretty good band and the did sound good for what I did hear.

My Addictions - INTERNET

So,

Here I am in Bahrain again. I had duty on Tuesday, so I rushed off the ship as soon as I could to go to the exchange and get on the internet. Stephanie is up at my parents house and I wanted to get on either iChat or Yahoo Instant Messenger and SEE my family. Well, apparently Batelco who I guess is the primary and possibly only internet provider for at leasts Manama, which is where I am, was having internet problems. We walked everywhere! Finally around noon my time someone had come back from the mall, where I am now, saying they even went out here trying to get on. NOTHING...So I was very dissapointed that I didn't get to see my family yesterday.

Today I brought ye ole lappie along just in case it worked. We got here at the mall about 6:15'ish and I didn't want to get my hopes up. So I went and browsed for a moment. Took a pit stop at the Sony store, then walked over to Starbucks. Expecting to not get anything, I sat down and reluctantly pulled out my laptop. Sure enough, it works!! So now I'm waiting to see if Stephanie will wake up and talk to me. I don't have a ton of time, but I'll work with it.

Can you believe how important the internet is to me now? Wow...

In Bahrain - still

So, the american dollar doesn't go very far here. For every Bahraini Dinar, it's $2.64'ish. When taking a five minute taxi cab ride, we've been able to barter down to 4 BD. Small electronics are super expensive here. Also, PS3 games go for well over $100 American.

Alas I sit at Starbucks again. This time with James and Rachel. We're going to see National Treasure Two in about an hour. I'l hang out here in the meantime.

One thing that is kind of irking me is that I tried to comment on Alex's and Billy's Blog. For some reason, I can't leave comments on the Wordpress blogs. :-( <--Makes me sad.

I'm in Bahrain - Happy New Year!

So..Here I am, sitting at Starbucks of all places drinking the water. Hey Karl, I agree it's pretty good. I never have liked coffee, but I just wanted to get on the internet and this seem to be the best place. At least according to my friends HT1 Lee and Grant who are addicted to World of Warcraft. I just wanted to blog, get updates, and check my e-mail.

So here are some pictures from Saipan, followed by our oh so joyous Christmas Day Det Photo...

So, as you can tell we were really happy. I don't have any pics of me since those were just off of my camera. The ones that are of me are back on the ship.

Well, other then that, I'm going to say bye for now and do some updates. I will update you more later!

-Chris

Hey All, an update!

Well all,

I'm in Saipan which is part of the Marianas Islands. I'm at one of the local hangout bars. I've had a few drinks, which is probably too many. There isn't much here to do so it's usually just end up at the same place every night. Last night they had this kickin' cover band and they totally rocked! Gave me total inspiration to learn the guitar and songs and maybe get back into the vocal realm. Well, tonight a different band is playing. I really can't drink enough to make them sound better, hence the reason I'm blogging.

On the technical side of the house, they are running a Cerwin-Vega combination which has got way too may watts for this Small place, but it seems to work if you enjoy permanent hearing damage. Using a Berringer board. I'm not sure what kind of amps, but that is okay. Bass is killer! Last night and tonight the bass players were playing 5 string bass's. They are pretty good. Last nights band covered Nickleback, Brittney Spears, 3 Doors Down, and such. This band has slaughtered way to many to even claim they tried. I figured if I had a few more, they'd sound better. Well, nope. I guess I shouldn't talk because I still suck, but I'm trying to learn. It's okay, everyone has got to start somewhere.

Well, so far we've been to Guam and Saipan. Guam was on base liberty only which was okay. Saipan I golfed and spent way too much at the bar. Went to a Vegas like Copperfield show. Wasn't worth the money, but I can say I did it at the Hyatt Regency in Saipan.

My chain of command has proven to be exactly what the rumors have been. You have to be very careful of who you select as friends and trust. I think I've found a select group, most have transferred in with the same opinion. Hopefully we'll be home soon. Man, I pray that is the case.

Life Church seems to be moving along. I got a e-mail from Alex the other day. He said that they are in the new building now, but tithe has been way down. I'm praying that it comes up and that they are growing and glorifying more then I could even imagine. Keep them in your prayers!

Well, I'm going to go now. I'll talk to you all later!

Update from the ship.

Ok so here is the latest email from Chris. I figured I would let you all know how he is doing. Oh yeah Ryan and I are doing as good as we can be.

Stephanie

Well all,

Here we are on day three. It was a busy day for the ship today but not so much for me. I ended up catching up on some sleep and moving my test equipment around. We had Hamburgers for lunch which weren’t too horribly overcooked and Pork Adobo for dinner. Yes, I ate Pork Adobo. I will be soon attempting to maintain a diet and start to loose weight. I have no “goal” per say, but I would like to loose at least 15 or 20 pounds.

After dinner I broke out my guitar and learned some fundamentals. I actually know what each string is now (EADGBE)! I even know how to play a scale, and how to play different notes on different strings. Tomorrow I’ll probably learn more about Chords and such. ET2 Francis, also named Chris, has been kind enough to teach me. So if you really think about it, in three days, about an hour or two a day, I’ve learned a lot.

Our internet/e-mail connectivity was down for a while but seems to be straightened out. I’ve noticed a few people have commented on my you tube videos, but you tube is an unauthorized website. I’m having blog withdrawals like you wouldn’t believe! I just want to blog away about all the silly stuff, how much I miss Stephie and Ryan, etc.

Tomorrow looks like an interesting day. I’ll send out an e-mail and keep you all updated. I keep forgetting to import my address book off of my thumb drive (which is in my rack right now) so I know that I’m missing many people. If you happen to speak/e-mail them, let them know I haven’t forgotten. I should be getting off of here. There’s not going to be much hot water left in the showers by the time I get there. I know I’m supposed to do our Navy Showers (which I do) but it is nice to have hot water when you take one! Talk to you all soon!

-Chris