excellentdrums

She's 2!

2005-06-17T14:47:00.000-04:00

Wowee! Kyra shares a birthday with the Olsen Twins and John Nash, the Beautiful Mind dude.

My Valedictorian Speech

2005-05-28T09:39:00.000-04:00

This is the speech that I gave to the Farmingdale State University Class of 2005 on May 22nd, 2005.

My name is Jim. I am thirty-three years old. My wife, Kerry, and I have a two-year-old daughter named Kyra. We live in a modest Baldwin home with a small but well-groomed yard and a driveway that looks like it belongs to our next-door neighbor. Sometimes, at the end of a long day, the three of us make the time to sit together on the front porch beneath the shade of an old oak tree. Kerry and I talk about things like home improvements or parties we’ll be attending or books that we’ve read. At other times, we just sit silently, taking in the warmth of the afternoon. At these times, I have the opportunity to reflect on my life and the experiences that have lead me here.

When I received the letter informing me that I was a candidate for valedictorian at Farmingdale State, I was stunned. I’ve worked hard to get good grades but it never occurred to me that the honor of being the valedictorian might be the end result. After all, I’m not going to school to receive awards. I’m going to get skills that will help me put a roof over my family’s head and food on our table. It was never my intention to do anything but my best. And now, here I am accepting an honor that suggests that my best might actually be considered the best.

I’ve never been the best at anything.

I’m the type of person who prefers to let my actions speak for themselves; so admittedly, it makes me a little uncomfortable accepting an honor for doing what I thought I was supposed to do. I guess I’ll have to come to terms with the discomfort and take on my responsibility as valedictorian to lead you, the class of 2005, into the future. Before I can do that, I need to define what being a valedictorian means. To me, a valedictorian demonstrates leadership, compassion, and commitment, while gracefully balancing the responsibilities of school, work, community, and family. A zest for life should lead the individual to pursue what he or she is passionate about as well. Excelling at everything, this person sometimes overcomes great hardships to do so. A valedictorian is the kind of person that everyone wants to be and is the kind of person that anyone can be. I certainly know that, valedictorian or not, this is the kind of person that I want to be.

That being said, I’ll take the time now to give you all an idea of how I got here. I’m sure some of you will be able to relate to my story because it’s certainly not unique.

I came to Farmingdale State in the fall of 2002, twelve years after my high school graduation. I guess you could say that I took the long road: I earned a music degree from Five Towns College; several credits toward an Associates degree at Suffolk Community College; and a Network Specialist Diploma from the Computer Career Center. Farmingdale State University enabled me to integrate all of my previous education into a single package. I chose Computer Programming and Information Systems as my major. Though I have worked very hard to keep my grades up, I think that my GPA is more a result of having found my ideal major than any kind of extraordinary work ethic.

Earlier, I mentioned my music degree. I play the drums and am proficient in many styles from Rock to Jazz. Long ago, I lost track of the number of times that I have performed professionally. The most rewarding of these performances are those that benefited others. Participating in concerts that benefited senior citizens or disabled teens helped me understand that doing what I love and doing for others are not things that have to be mutually exclusive. There is a duality to the act that benefits everyone involved.

Life’s not always as rosy as we would like it to be. Sometimes, hard times hit. In the moment, it might seem that a problem may be completely insurmountable. As I grow older, I realize that hard times pass and memories fade. The lessons learned by the hardships do nothing more but enhance the life that we live. Maturity means knowing that we’re not finished growing. I believe sadness, anger, resentment, and all of the other unpleasant emotions have their foundation in one single emotion: fear. The more difficult something is, the more uptight, anxious, or fearful it makes us, the more beneficial it is for us once we’ve been through it. I was afraid to come back to school at thirty, thinking perhaps it would be a waste of time for someone my age to even bother. Luckily, because of the experience that my age has afforded me, I realized I was making excuses and that I was fearful - the same fear I had had all of my life. This time I used the fear to motivate me to take the step. Returning to school ended up being difficult anyway but not because of my age. Juggling a job, a family, and an education can be tricky. Yet, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything else in the world.

Of all my accomplishments, it is my family that I am most proud of. In June, Kerry and I will be celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary and our daughter, Kyra, will be celebrating her second birthday. My wife and daughter bring purpose to my life: their love and support encouraged me to achieve my goals. Being valedictorian is an honor I share with Kerry, as I’ve done with everything else in my life. Looking at my family, I realize I have accomplished much more than I had ever dreamed.

I, and I’m sure the rest of the graduating class, would like to thank also our parents, siblings, in-laws, and, of course, the faculty and staff at Farmingdale State University.

I’m not sure if I’m the right guy for the job of leading the class into the future. I am not even sure if I am valedictorian material. I certainly don’t always feel like it. I often have severe bouts of self-doubt that last for several days at a time. When this happens, all I have to do is look back at all that I’ve accomplished. Have I gracefully balanced the responsibilities of my job with my education, civic duty, and family? Have I been compassionate and committed? Did I make time for myself to pursue the things that I love? Am I a leader? Am I the best? As I sat on my front porch writing this speech, I reflected on all of these questions and found that I could not answer them myself. I have learned enough to know that others may perceive me differently than I perceive myself. And as I said earlier, I’ve never been the best at anything. Sitting there, I did come to one realization. I saw it in my well-groomed lawn and my old oak tree. Today, I see it in my wife’s smile and in my daughter’s eyes: I did my best.

Class of 2005,

“WE are the music-makers, and WE are the dreamers of dreams!”

Wherever life takes you from here, do your best.

Sunburn

2005-04-18T09:29:00.000-04:00

Sunburn,
originally uploaded by excellentdrums.

It's good to get a little color. Makes you look healthy... I'm pretty buff so this sunburn helps to add visual contrast to my muscular physique.

The Black Italian Stallion Just Called Me

2005-02-10T16:24:00.000-05:00

I just got off of the phone with THE Black Italian Stallion. It seems as though he is upset with this site. I had difficulty understanding what he was saying at first. I thought he had the wrong number. Then he called me by my first name. Very Creepy. Then he proceeded to quote my address. Creepier. Then I heard him say "Black Italian Stallion" and I knew what was going on.

He seems to be most upset with the fact that there is a picture of a toilet on this site. Also, If you google "black italian stallion", excellentdrums.com turns up above his official site in the results list.

I think he believes that one dopey little post about his site is enough to put him out of business. The word "Lawyer" was mentioned at one point. If it really comes down to that, then the post is toast. I surely hope not, he is incredibly entertaining and I would hate to have to pull the post over this. I'm not really sure there is any legal recourse for linking one publicly available resource to another publicly available resource anyway.

In any event, no harm was intended to the Black Italian Stallion. I posted the link because I thought that people would get a kick out of it. I found him incredibly entertaining. If I am home on Wednesday afternoons, I always check him out on Public Access. Sure, he has a weird way of spelling things but I don't think that spelling is his business. Music is. This guy is a true original.

Note to the Stallion if you read this post:
I totally dig what you're doing. Keep up the good work. I am truly sorry if my original post caused any harm to your business.

Note to anyone else reading this:
Give this guy a call! He's sure to bring a unique experience to any event!

Kyra Cooks Her First Meal

2004-12-03T13:48:00.000-05:00

It was delicious!

Watch the video:
https://excellentdrums.com/videos/KyraCooks.wmv

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree...

2004-11-10T17:35:00.000-05:00

She's got our sense of humor too!

Michael Corleone on November 3rd

2004-11-03T16:39:00.000-05:00

It was you America. I know it was you. You broke my heart. You broke my heart.

Trick Or Treat

2004-11-01T16:30:00.000-05:00

Too many kids came to our door without costumes yesterday. Doesn't anyone understand Halloween anymore? There were so many kids dressed in their everydays that finally I sarcastically asked one of them what she was dressed up as. With an attitude, she answered, "a witch," and then proceeded to stick her hand in our candy bowl to take a few pieces more than we had already given her. She was definitely old enough to have learned the manners that should have kept her from doing something as rude as this - at least 11 or 12. Her mom was even there so some sort of motherly discouragement of that kind of behaviour should have definitely been in order. No such luck. My wife grabbed the candy back, shooting an, "excuse me!," her way. Still no intervention by the mom. It was over as quick as it started. I think our new rule is going to be: No candy without a costume. But then we'll probably find our cars covered with eggs and shaving cream the next morning...

Listen, I'm easy. If one of these baggy jeans and baseball cap preteens had told me that they were dressed as Fred Durst, I would have bought it. A little creativity is all I ask. Hell, I actually once won a contest for being dressed up as a Gap model. Coincidentally, I had shown up to the contest in full Gap attire, just jeans and a t-shirt, with no plans of competing. Then, as a goof, I struck a few dopey poses and took home the prize. Some dude who was dressed as a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger got pissed because he spent all night working on his costume.

There was another time I won a prize for a costume that I didn't skimp on. I didn't put much thought into it but I didn't skimp on it either. I dressed up as my closet. I was covered with dirty clothes, blankets, crutches, broken toys, drum equipment, several pairs of old shoes, towels, a lawn chair, and a whole bunch of other random junk. The whole thing was topped off with a closet door adorned with a Living Color poster. I won a prize for most creative costume in my senior class. It weighed about a ton and inspired a lot of people to say things like, "A closet?!??! Well I hope you're not coming out of it... har har har..."

Urban Geekboy

2004-08-17T15:11:00.000-04:00

Johnny T is a wimp. I can ride a bull with the best of 'em. Here's the trick, and this is the part that they don't tell you about... Tight Pants. My thighs are still sore and bruised in places where it is probably best that they are not sore and bruised. It's actually much harder to ride a mechanical bull than it looks. Observers may think that the thing is barely moving while the rider finds themselves being thrashed around as never before. Mechanical bulls are evil.

The video is at https://excellentdrums.com/videos/UrbanGeekboy.mpg

Adventures In Secret Shopping

2004-08-08T19:29:00.000-04:00

Can you believe this one? This weekend we became secret shoppers. We actually got paid to covertly take pictures of gas station toilets. We had to buy a pack of gum and comment on the demeanor of the cashier. We got $10 bucks a pop for three gas stations. All was done in about an hour. The whole time I felt like a criminal casing the joint. I meant that in the good way. It would have been much cooler if we had been busted by someone though. The cashier could've been like all, "hahaha, i know what yer doing! Busted!" or a cop could be like all, "You're under arrest for spying, bitches! Hah!" But, alas, nothing even close to being that cool happened. Instead, the highlight ended up being a dirty unstocked bathroom that we got to complain about on a questionaire. If anyone wants to see the rest of the pictures, comment below.

The Black Italian Stallion

2004-07-31T17:47:00.000-04:00

http://www.blackitalianstallion.com

I did not give this guy his name. He claimed it for himself. I saw him "crooning" on public access a few days ago. He has a hand painted sign that he hangs in front of his piano that says, "multi-lengual", among other things. I think he means multi-lingual but whatever. I am happy that people like this exist. It makes me feel better about my own musical ability. I think that one of the "lenguages" that he speaks is "the lenguage of love".

CRAAAZZZYYY!!!!!

2004-07-29T10:33:00.000-04:00

Kyra is being CRAAAZZZYYY!!!!!

This is the crappiest blog ever...

2004-07-21T14:18:00.000-04:00

One of these days I'll actually come up with a point.

This is being posted via email. Maybe I'll publish the address I used so that my blog can document all of the awesome spam that I receive.

whatever...

2004-07-19T17:40:00.000-04:00

Gosh darn landscaping truck did this... is this blog more interesting yet?

2004-07-07T23:35:00.000-04:00

I look at the computer screen bleary-eyed for hours on end... why? Am I really that boring? or just that BORED?

2004-06-22T16:19:00.000-04:00

Locked out of the car.... grrrrr...

2004-06-22T07:32:00.000-04:00

...before work.

2004-06-21T12:32:00.000-04:00

Hi Mom.

2004-06-20T15:33:00.000-04:00

I just want to go on record and express my extreme dislike for the office-sneak-up-behind-you-and-massage-you guy. You know who I mean. Every office has him. It's the guy who has no respect whatsoever for your personal space. He just creeps up from behind and starts massaging your neck. His uncomfortable advances are usually paired with a request for some help doing his job so perhaps the massage is some kind of awkward attempt at persuasion. I wonder if these people realize that it actually repels instead of persuades. Anyway... next week i'll talk about the guy who starts a conversation at the urinal.

2004-06-14T23:40:00.000-04:00

Pool

I opened the pool this weekend. Well... not really. I actually have no idea how to "open" a pool. There are chemicals to add - I know that much. I learned a little about Household electrical wiring too. Very eventful weekend.

My daughter turned 1 year old. She wore a sailor suit. Everybody at the party had a great time. The two of us took the day off today to recuperate. She played with her new toys and I played with my new carpet.

Also, it turns out that Dora the Explorer is not as bad as I had initially thought.

2004-06-11T10:49:00.000-04:00

Bakery

I have a bakery right down the block from my house. Right now, the entire neighborhood smells like the best breakfast ever. cool.

2004-06-08T23:50:00.000-04:00

I have the programming bug again. I have been facinated by Java for the last few weeks. Why do I think that this is important enough to post on my web site? I have no idea. Whatever...

2004-06-07T00:20:00.000-04:00

Nice...

I am so tired. I have been playing with Fedora Core 2 for the last few days. I have not slept much. The Sopranos was pretty good tonight. I need more power tools.

2004-05-29T13:39:00.000-04:00

It rained. No day in the sun. The neighbors called the cops though so it wasn't that bad. All we needed was some beer and it would have been just like high school. I ate too many hot dogs.

2004-05-24T18:19:00.000-04:00

I have to rehearse... My company is having a bar-b-q and they put together a band to provide the entertainment. Me and 4 other coworkers are expected to rock the parking lot of an industrial park in our khakis and button down shirts. All those years of chasing rock-n-roll superstardom have gotten me absolutely nowhere. At least I'm getting paid for this show. What a waste. I guess it's alright... free hotdogs, the adoration of my coworkers, and a day in the sun is not such a bad thing. Especially since it's on the clock.