gwennybird

Crossing of a Cockatiel

2009-08-27T04:32:41Z

Location - In My Room
Mood - excited

Hi all,

Sorry that I haven't written in a while. I haven't been up to that much. To be honest, I often think my life's too boring to write about. Well, I've just been playing banjo and cutting ties with Ultra Entertainment my website design company. Well, the company I hired to do the web design for marissamusic.com. More about that in a moment.

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I report the passing or crossing over as I like to say of Stormy one of our cockatiels. He wasn't the friendliest bird, and we never really got to know him. He wasn't in to being handled or petted, and I only got the chance after he crossed to have a goodbye pet. I suspect that he had a tumor, and while you may think it cruel, we could not take him to the vet. Not due to financial concerns, but because we knew no vet could handle him. He didn't like or trust humans at all, I'm not sure if it was due to the attack of the sparrows, or his life before he came to us. I hope he has found happiness now, and is at peace. I know that my Sunny was there to meet him on the other side as well as Mrs. O. Gwen is very sad and misses Stormy grately.

I'm writing this entry on the new Samsung NC10 netbook. It's very sleak and stylish, with a nice solid keyboard, if I want to add an optical CD/DVD burner, it will only set me back about $40. I spent most of the day on the phone with GW Micro trying to activate my payment plan copy of Window-Eyes on the netbook. I had to enter my license key and copy the files over from the CD on to the pen drive since obviously this computer does not have a CD drive. It finally worked, and Window-Eyes is out of 30 minute demo mode.

Ultra Entertainment is no longer doing my website. I calledLaura Halenberger my customer service rep and asked her what was going on with my site a few weeks ago. She told me they were working on it, and it should be live within the week. Just to make sure I phoned Stephanie Ingoglia the woman in charge of the actual website design. I finally contacted Laura again Monday. She gave me the same old line, so I decided to throw in the towel and ask for my $450 which ishalf the price of web design. They agreed to refund $325 and send me the proofs they did complete for the site. I'm quite disheartened at this point. I have placed a call to the Better Business Bureau in Phoenix, Arizona. I wouldn't wish anyone the same fate I had with Ultra Entertainment. I'm in the process of starting over again. I'm looking at 2 Worlds Interactive and ignite image.com. I hope marissamusic.com is back online soon. I really miss my site.

In the meantime, I've also been updating my podcasts. The latest one is on my new Toshiba DVD/VCR recorder. I will upload it tomorrow. Well, I guess that's about it from here. Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day.

New HOuse guest

2009-07-13T13:48:53Z

Location - My living room
Mood - excited to have electricity

Hi all,

I'm back, yay! I'm excited that we have power again after our recent storms and such. We didn't have the net for a while, but we obviously do now. Well, bathroom renovation continues, i"m hoping it should all be completed by this week yay! I miss having my own bathroom. Well, I have a virus. It's called Fake Security Center Alert. Apparently it's from North Korea, and it's a siber attack on U.S. computers. I found that out online, as for the accuracy of that, I can't say. All I can say for sure is that it keeps open Iternet Explorer prompting me to download a program to remove it, but this is the virus itself. Scans with AVG, Trojan Hunter and Xoftspy have yileded results, but they are unable to remove it. I called Geek Squad and they said they would have to make a house call to fix it. I'm really nervous and I'm not sure what to do. I'm afraid that this virus will destroy my computer. I wlll not send anything to anyone until I'm sure I'm clean.

As for our new house guest, it's a feathered guest. His name is Gibby. He's my cousin Brian's bird, Brian is moving so he asked us to take him for a few days. I'm excited about that, but he's a screamer, he sets Gwen off and all the others to start screaming iy yi yi! oh well, i'm glad to have him for a few days. It didn't make sense for him to go to Bird Jungle when we were happy to take him. HE's not friendly and you can't pet him. Hmm, sounds like another birdie I know whose name is Stormy. Well, other than that, not much new here. I hope you are having a wonderful day.

Marissa and Gwen

Techy Update

2008-12-07T17:02:26Z

Location - At my computer
Mood - Happy
Music - Alice Peacock Here I Go Again

Hi all,

I'm back! what do you know? Well, Nick has inspired me to do a lot of things that I would not have attempted without him. Finding new audio gear, thinking I can be a good DJ, and to update my LJ more often. So here goes. What's new since I last wrote yesterday? Not too much, except we have a podcast and techy update. Important things first: Gwen is doing well. She is just a bouncy bundle of joy and she is a blessing in my life. She flew to me yesterday, and even though I'm afraid she will get hurt, but to have her fly to me was just amazing. I was struck by a story I saw on our local news last night. It was about a family who escaped a fire at their home but lost their family puppy. I was so saddened that I said a little prayer for the puppy, and went to see Gwen. I love that bird, and I know if there was ever a fire, I would give my life to save her. Although with any animal it's hard to save them, never mind people. But I would try to save her and all the other birds too.

Well, in my new equipment news, the Tascam has to be returned to Musicians' Friend and exchanged for a Fostex. Who would have thunk it? Not me, I deliberately steered away from Fostex because of the underlying hum I had, but that was in 2004, I will give them another chance. The reason the Tascam is being returned is because of its menu driven system. In terms of everything, to save a song, to load a song, create a song, transfer to the computer, and everything else you can imagine. You can't even plug in a mic and have it automatically start to work. You have to set the input in the menu and then arm the track for recording. Those of you who have used digital recorders will know what I'm talking about, but needless to say it was a major let down. No, this doesn't postpone Songbird. I'm releasing this album if it costs $5 thousand dollars. I will use the Edirol to finish up work on it, and get it out there. I'm so excited about that, yay! I am looking to return the Tacsam and get a Fostex MR-8 MKII which is the new 8 track digital recorder which works on a compact flash card and not a hard drive. Yes, there are disadvantages to this, pros and cons, like everything else. But all I want is a simple recorder that works! I want to be able to take it out of the box, and be recording within less than an hour. My Mom helped me yesterday, and she is very good at this sort of thing, and she couldn't figure the new Tascam out either. Maybe I'll write to them, they should really make their products more accessible. I'm actually a bit surprised as Tascam makes very good and high end products. The last Tascam product I purchased several years ago was a cassette recorder, no menus there. Oh well, my Cad M-179 mic is working beautifully and for that I'm grateful. I guess I will close for now. I'm looking forward to writing more soon. Have fun all.

update

2008-10-19T15:07:34Z

Mood - very happy
Location - in my room
Music - I'm watching I Love Lucy

Hi all,

I haven't written in a while. I guess that's because I do the same thing every day. But oh well. I've been talking to lots of new people from Long Island and the HKC crew. Yesterday was the big gig. It was really exciting! I did California Dreaming, Fire and Spark, and then the best part of the whole day the duette with Bob. We did Can't Find My Way Home! It was so beautiful. He sang harmony on it, and Glen played guitar. It was gorgeous, I was honored to be part of such a talented group of musicians. I met Nick from HKC, Bob of course, Glen, Shannon, Rich Cavalaro Amanda and Meg. I met so many nice people. I also met Pete the drummer's wife Arleen and she was great. The band was awesome, they really rocked, they had great sets and were fantastic. Thanks to all for such a great day.

I will pffobably work on Songbird today. I have 4 tracks to do some mandolin on, and one guitar part. Once I get that done, it will be cool. It will be so exciting once it's released yay! I still don't know when I'm working, no one has called me regarding my hours, so I'm hoping soon though.

Gwen is being cute as usual, she is just so beautiful. She was whistling and chirping awe! I am going to put up another podcast today on cleaning braille displays. Well, I hope you are having fun.

Marissa and Little Gwenny

Test day and more

2008-09-21T23:31:24Z

Location - at my computer for a change
Moodd - happy

Background sounds - Mom vacuuming

HI all,

Well, it's been a while since I have done an update. so, I thought I'd tell you whats been going on in Marissa Land. Smile. Well, Friday, September 19th was my social work licensing exam. I hope it went well, I hope I passed. If I do, there's an autoharp in my future. If not, I'll just have to wait til I pass to get it. The test seemed easier this time around, and i'm hoping that my new studdy methods from a site called social work exam dot com where beneficial. It was a very stresfful day and my brain was fried after my 6 hour exam.

We also had technical problems with Hal not wanting to install on the computers at the college where I took the exam. As it turned out, the computers uninstalled any new programs on reboot. So the intercepter driver, the little piece of software that enables the Hal Pen to run was never getting installed. So I settled for Microsoft Sam, I can hear the groans, but it was better than nothing. I wasn't too happy about it, but it was better than nothing.

I was allowed to type my answers on the computer and then print them out, the the scribe had to bubble then in to the booklet which worked very well. I won't know about the results til next week. But I"m excited about that and hope I passed.

i listened to Neal Ewers podcast about the contact mike and the parabolic reflector and it's cool to record wildlife sounds. I'm thinking about getting one of those. I start my part time job in October and hope to do some volunteer work at the local high school. Other than that, maybe another podcast on ventrilo coming up. Well, I guess that's about it from here, thanks for reading and thank you to all those who wished me good luck on Friday. Maria, Dannie, Trev, Mart, Soph, Jak G, Tania and Carl. Well, have a great day. Oh and Gwen broke her newest toy, she broke the chain off it today but Dad managed to fix it. Yay! Well, I hope you all have a great day I'm out of here for now smile bye.

VT server up!

2008-09-10T15:04:57Z

Location - by my computer

Mood - accomplished

Hi all,

Well, I haven't written much, just been busy with social work studdy and getting my new VT server up. I'd like to thank Mart and Joe for helping me last night, and also Carl for telling me how to add and delete channels. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your assistance. I have always wanted my own server, and I guess now is as good a time as any. The details follow. You can put anything you want in for the server name, I either have Gwenna or Birdhouse. The Host IP is v09.darkstarllc.com
the port number is 24599. I hope that you all will join me. I have created some channels and tested it to make sure it works. It's only truly been working an hour but it's very exciting.

A belated happy birthday to Kristian. I messaged at him yesterday, but he wasn't around, but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Gwen is doing well, she flew into the window the other day, but she's fine thank goodness. Clipping is the works, I'm just too afraid she's going to get hurt.

I'm still frying my brain with social work theories, and I can't wait til this exam is over. But in between that, I'm recording some new podcasts. I plan to do my guitarcast on the wah wah pedal and show off my electric guitar. Maybe I'll even put it up on Blind Cool Tech. I'm also recording another gwenna cast on Firefox and Webvisum. Other than having a very freaky time yesterday with the power failure, I'm okay. It was laining thundering and lightning and the power went out. I was and quite scared. But it all worked out fine. The power came back on an hour later. Well, I guess that's about it from here. I'll keep you up to date on Songbird and all the newest happenings. Thanks for reading.

cat scan results are into

2008-08-22T04:44:47Z

Location - In my room
Mood - excited

Music - no, Court TV Wicked Attraction

Hi folks,

I had a pretty good day today. Hung on VT, tried to play music, and then petted Gwen Gwen! she bit me. So cute, it's not a day without a Gwen bite. AWE! Mom let her and Snowmn out, she didn't fly into the glas; door again. So that's good, as much as I'm afraid she's going to get hurt, I can't keep her locked up all the time either. Tonight we had crab cakes and salad for dinner, and vanilla ice cream with butterscotch topping, yumpsk! Well, the news you have all been waiting for. The grammy goes to ... just kidding. Drum roll please

The results of the cat scan are: Chronic and acute sinusitis. It's not pollyps, and most likely won't require surgery, but having the two types makes me feel like this. The chronic has a thick mucus, and the acute keeps the infection coming back. Do. Tom is going to try me on the Levaquin for another 10 days and see where that goes. He is great man, and I think he will get this under control. Now, I'm just impatient and I want it to go away so I can sing again. Well, other than that, not much new here. Gwen says chirp!

Hugs,
Mouse and Gwen

Gina Maria's

2008-08-21T04:17:30Z

Location - In bed
Mood - happy

Music - TV Call 911

Hi all,
Well, Ive been remiss in updting this again. I'm trying to get better. I'll tell you about my night out first, then my disappointing binaurals. Last night I went out with Mom and Dad to a really nice Italian restaurant Gina Maria's. Since it was so beautiful, we ate outside, the crickets and sacadas provided the evening's serenade. There were people at the table next to us and I think one of them was named Marissa. Or they knew of a Marissa. The entres and appetizers are amazing! You can eat off your portion for days! I had fried calimari, and garlic bread dipped in Olive Oil. Yum, then for dinner I had chicken broilitini, which is chicken stuffed with eggplant, parmesian, ricot, and all sorts of other cheeses which I can't remember. It was excellent, I have more of it to have tomorrow for lunch. That was one of the specials, it beat out the feticini alfredo. Yumpsk! Gwen's recovering from flying into our glass door. That was really scary, she was dazed for a while, but she's okay now. That was Saturday. I had some nice chttage with Lynn, Carl, Jack Scrim, Jak G, Sarah from Frida and John from I'm not sure where. It was great. I also listened to Lynn's music box file! awesome stuff! great stuff. It's one of the sounds on my computer now. I also recorded a Guitarcast on changing strings and discovered my brand new binaurals have a horrible hum.

I E-mailed Sound Professionals and they said what recorder are you using them with? Are you using them with batteries? I told them it was with the R09 and it was running on battery power rather than AC. I know that produces a hum. I also heard from the Dolphin P. They said it will cost $170 to upgrade to so newest version of Hal. That's not bad, I had figured around $200. So that's exciting! I will update it tomorrow.

I also called ACT the testing center for my social work exam. I will be taking the test sometime in September, but I don't know when. I will register for the online social work practice exam tomorrow. I also found out I'm working days for my job. They're not sure yet, but they think so. Well, I guess you're all caught up, have a great day, and thanks for reading.

Musically,
Mousey and Gwen

Update on Ct Scan

2008-08-15T22:20:01Z

Location - The living room by my computer
Mood - happy
Music - A couple singing on Folk Alley

Hi all,

How are you? Well, I hope everyone's doing well. I wanted to give you an update on the Cat Scan. Mom and I went to the hospital today, and there were several emergencies, one girl was hit by a car, I felt bad for her. I hope she is going to be okay. She had a concussion, but I don't think it was serious though, my thoughts and prayers are with her. I felt bad for her Mom. I got really cold in the hospital, and they had to get a blanket for me. It was freezing in that place. After an hour of waiting, they finally took me for the cat scan and they should have the results by next week. What a crazy week this has been. Well, my Marjssa Music E-mail is finally fixed, I don't know how, but it fixed itself thank goodness. I love typing this in Braille. I'm on VT with Jak G talking about Domaine names. I petted Little Gwen today. She's so cute! awe, she's definitely coming out today. I'm doing a guitarcast this evening, and hoping it will be uploaded tomorrow. Or maybe even before. It's raining at the minute, thunder crashing all around, I hate rain. I hope it goes away soon. Well, I guess you're all up to date now. Have a great day!

Musically,
mouse and Gwen

Todays the day!

2008-08-11T13:40:28Z

Location - by my computer
Mood - excited and nervous

Music - thinking about playing some Alison Krauss

Hi all,

Well, I haven't updated in a while. Nothing too much happening here. I took Gwen out for a bit the other day. She was great! Thursday she was just fabubulous! I didn't have her out Saturday. I came eown with this awful sinus headache, so spent the afternoon in bed just watching TV. Got up yesterday feeling much better. In between, I've hung out with some great friends, Jack Sqim, Lulu, Maria, Phil, Mart, Lynn and met some folks on VT. It was great, I tried to record some, but it didn't work out. I sound really nasalally when I sing, so it's nothing I want to let anyone hear.

I hope today we'll have some answers as to what this is. Well, we know it's chronic sinusitis, but I hope that Dr. Tom will have some answers. I'm nausious as I type this, and I'm hoping it will be in full force when he sees me. No doctor's ever seen this in full force before. So I'm hoping that he will do an X-ray and find out what this is. I was really down yesterday evening, as I tried to record the last track for Songbird, Love. The last vocal track anyways, and I couldn't, also tried to record Sweet Sir Galahad, and couldn't do that either. Just sounded too nasalally. Well, I'm quite frustrated at the moment, and sick of feeling sick and like crap all the time. Sorry for the rant folks. Here's a glass of optimism, I'm going to think positive, Dr. Tom is going to figure this out. Yay to no more sinus troubles. Have a good day everyone, I will write more when I come back.

Musically,
Marissa and a chirping Gwennybird

Hal updates, and stupid people

2008-08-06T11:40:03Z

Location - my room
Mood - happy
Music - Nope watching Good Day New York.

Hi all,

Well, I've been quite remiss in updating this, so I thought I'd try to get better this week. Yesterday I had a nice chat with Lulu, good to see her again. I wish her the best with her move! yay! I mised her tuns! I also had a nice chat with Tania, from New Zealand, and got to hear Jack play his mandolin, guitar and accordion. Then I had some nice chattage with Lynn and Jak G as well. I also saw Phil, Mart and Carl earlier in the evening, and later on just before I went to dinner. Hope I mentioned everyone. I had Gwen out last night, and she was great! She finally whistled Softee! I thought she forgot it, since she hasn't done it, and I can't whistle to save my life. But she did it yesterday, I was so excited!

I've had her out every day, and it seems to be helping her mood, I have noticed she's calmer, and likes to be petted more. That just made my day!

I also had some nice chattage with Richie Z, he and Tania helped me with Hal, and I may upgrade to Hal 9. If I don't have to pay, I'll get it. I can't afford it if I have to pay. I'm doing a podcast on my new binaurals, I'm also doing an update on Blind Cool Tech about the Guitarcast. I hope it gets posted soon. Well, I haven't posted it yet, but I will soon. It's all edited, so just have to figure out how to use FTP through internet explorer.

Well, now to the next part in my subject line, stupid people. No, no one I know, smile. Just something I heard on the news. I rarely say much about what I hear on the news, just because it's always so sad. But this is just stupid. Some guy called 911 to say that Subway forgot to put mustard and mayo on his sandwiches. What the hell is he thinking? Bogging up the 911 system with a stupid call like that. He was arrested for making a false 911 call. I mean really, he was still in Subway, and he was telling them he was calling the police. Stupid moron. He gets the next Pinhead of the week award on my podcast. Right behind Freedom Scientific.

It's raining today, so sinuses are not too great, but I'm going to get this album done come what may! I have one more vocal track to record. A song called Love. I hope everyone's having a great day! I just checked on Gwen and she let me pet her! awe! I think I'll go practice some mandolin, trying to learn Blackberry Blossom by Sam Bush. Hard song, but I like the challenge. Well, have a great day!

Musically and chirpally,
Marissa and Gwen

Gorgeous Gwen

2008-08-03T02:55:48Z

Location - In bed
Mood - Happy
TV - The News on Channel 5

Hi all,

It's been ages since I've updated, so I thought I would write tonight and say hi. What's new you ask. Not much, just been hanging out and doing some much needed housekeeping. Okay, so I'm not the best housekeeper, I don't have the patience for it, to be honest. I don't mind vacuuming, cleaning Gwen's cage, cooking, I love cooaing, it's dish washing I really don't like. Oh well, I'm trying to get my room cleaned up, Mom says it's a good idea.

Mom is an excellent housekeeper, everything is in its place and orderly. Other than that, I've been dubbing some of the parentals' video tpes oo to DVD, and other than that, I worked on Songbird. I re-recorded The Tide last night with my Aueio Technica AT822 microphone. Speaking of microphones, I got a pair of new binaurals. I never had old binaurals, but I got my very first pair of new binaurals.

I bought the Sound Pffofessionals Low Noise In Ear Binaurals from Sound Professionals. I wanted the Audio Technicca ones a friend of mine has, but they didn't say they worked with the Edirol R09. I bought these and they arrived yesterday, they are great, I'm working on a new podcast with them. They are superb so far, I wanted in ear ones so I didn't have to clip them to myself. I think they make them very obvious, but that's just me. I guess if you place them right, no one would know.

Now to the subject of this entry, Gwen. She so doing really well, which is a complete turn around from the other day. She had been moody for weeks. Every time I went to touch her, she'd bite me. Not just me, but anyone who touchgh her. I told her I would rehome her if she didn't shape up. This morning, it was a complete turn around, she was affectionate, and when I went pet her, she kissed me, chirped, and wanted to be touched. I was elated, and I shall take her out again tomorrow.

This evening ended rather nicely, I'm winding down now. Mom, Dad and I went to Petes. I had a cup of French Onion Soup, Philly Cheese Steak, and 2 brownies. They were great! Everything was excellent. Karin our usual waitress wasn't there, so we met her best friend Jane. She was nice, I had met her once before, and she was lovely. I really enjoyed myself, and I also had a Malibu Bay Breeze. It was grand. That's about it from here, now you're all caught up. Have a great day! Have fun!

Musically,
Marissa and Gwen

Allison is amazing!

2008-07-20T05:11:31Z

Location - On my bed in my room
Tv - Deadliest Catch (A show about the crab season) Hunting for Alaskan crab in the Berring Sea.

Mood - Happy, elated

Hi all,
I haven't updated in a while. Well, I've just been hanging with friends, and trying not to let my sinus infection get me down. I'm feeling much better, and I'm hoping it stays that way. I was quite depressed earlier, but the concert tonight lifted my spirits.

I went to see Canadian singer songwriter Allison Crowe in concert! If you are unfamiliar with her music, definitely worth checking her out! She has a voice to die for! I love her, and I actually got to meet her after the show! again! I got to meet her the first time she traveled to New York. I got it on tape, well, digital and a hug from Allison! She was just so gracious and so amazing, and my folks liked her show too. They said they would definitely go back. again! yay! They were as mesmorized as I was. I'm going to ask the people of the Laurie Beechman where Allison plyed tonight if I can play there. It's a small theeater about 80 seats, no, I don't have 80 fans. We'll see if we can chat and fill the place with relasjsves if they say yes. I'm going to send them a copy of Songbird when it's released and ask them if they will let me play. I hope I have the courage to do so. But Oh well, we'll see what happens. Allison was amazing, her set was spectacular! just her piano, and Allison's beautiful voice! pure acoustic music, feeling, emotional, heart wrenching she made my Dad cry, and me too, well, almost, I wanted to though. She has in the past. I got our meeting on digital and also some sounds of New York City. It was great! Well, I'm off to bed now as I'm quite tqed while writing this. But before I go, I'll tell what I had for dinner. We ate there as we watched the show. I had crab cakes with corn and salsa. Then underneath the crab there were red peppers in the salsa which was great! I had a Milibu Bay Breeze and a butterscotch parfae and coffee for desert. Just incredibly delicious! Mom had steak and Dad had sea scallops. Getting to meet Allison again was the highlight of my day. She is truly a gracious, beautiful person onstage and off. Well, that's about it from here. Have a great day everyone.

Hugs from,
Mouse and Gwen

Struggling with sinuses

2008-07-08T04:18:15Z

Location - My room

Tv - Animal Planet Cops Houston
Mood - Frustrated

Hi all,

I had a pretty good day today. I recorded two podcasts. One for the Gwennacast and one for the guitarcast. I had fun doing that. I woke up early, and had some nice dingage with Jack, Lulu, and Ruud from the Netherlands. Then I recorded my two casts, and fed the birds. Everything was going really well, and I actually thought I would have some songs for Songbird done. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. I had a severe sinus headache and spent the afternoon laying in bed hoping it would lift. It has not yet, and I'm constantly dizzy. Ug! Gram told me of a new procedure called Sinuplasty. It's where they insert a baloon and inflate the sinuses to enlarge the opening. I'm making an appointment with the doctor this week. I'm desperate, the quality of my life has suffered, I can't eat, I never feel well, and I can't sing. It sucks to be honest. I'VE been tested for allergies, everything comes back negative. I'm taking adville cold and sinus, and I have tried meds and put my dihumidifier on which takes the moisture out of the air. Nothing is helping, so I have an interview with this doctor in Los Vegas that does this surgery, and I'm going to print it out and show it to my doctor. Other than my stupid headache, it was a great day. I had Gwen out this evening and she was magnificent in top form! yay! Well, that's about it for today. Can't think of anything else to write. Thanks for reading! have fun!

Musically,
Mouse and Gwen

Two new Podcasts

2008-06-26T02:25:18Z

Location - My room
Mood - Contented
Music - TV a new show about drilling for oil called Black Gold

Hi all,

I hope you are doing well. I had a good day today. I spent time with Lulu on Skype, and Jack Scrimshaw and Jak G on VT towards the end of the day. It was coolness! Yesterday I recorded 2 new podcasts on the Gwenna page. I plan to do another guitarcast on different sorts of capos soon too. If you would like to check out either cast go here for the Gwenna one:
http://www.gcast.com/u/gwenna/main
The Guitarcast is at:
http://www.gcast.com/u/guitarcast/main
The first cast is me touring my space I think. It was fun, and I hope you enjoy it. The second one is demonstrating Freedom Millionaire a game that Lulu showed me the other day.

I'm still thinking about purchasing an autoharp, I wish there was some way I could get my hands around one of those. I was asking Jack today what it looked like. If it was big, or small. I'm going to see if anyone can provide me a description of an autoharp. If you know of anyone let them know. Smile. I imagined it to be small like a mandolin. When I asked Jack said it was big, and now I'm imagining it like a guitar. But I still don't know if I have the right idea. When I get one, I'm going to make a series on the Gwenna page about learning autoharp. If I get really good, maybe I'll make a tutorial on how to play it, and pick out melodies. But that's only if, and that's a big if. Haha! I thought maybe if I do a series on it, if a blind person wants to pick one up, maybe it would inspire them. Two of the best podcasts I've ever heard on autoharp are Jack SCRIMSHAW's bluegrass and how it works, and the autoharp demo by Matthew Bullis. I also was told it would be better to buy one from a professional who can set it up properly. So I contacted Pete Daigle, an autoharp maker I've heard of. He has an Oscar Schmidt 21C which is a 21 chord autoharp. I asked him how much it would cost to have him tune it up etc. I'm waiting for him to get back to me. Well, I guess that's about it for today. Little Gwenny is out now, and she's must better than yesterday. She let me pet her! yay! Gwen feathers under my hands, so cute and fluffy. Well, have a great day everyone!

Huggles and chirps,
Mousey and Gwen

What a day

2008-06-24T03:00:32Z

Hi folks,

Well, I had a pretty good day today. Woke up with a headache, and now it's coming back again. I had some chattage with Jack, Lulu and a quick dingage with Kay. My messenger was going all weird today. I made a new friend on VT Richie Z. He is cool, and I exchanged Skype IDS and MSN addresses with him. He's a nice guy. Then I went on VT and hung out with Lulu, Jack, Kay, Kris and Amanda. It was neat. Mom had a tooth ache, I just hope she feels better soon. I have Gwen out as I write this. She smells much better after her shower. Clean Gwennybird! I'm watching Nashville Star. It's kind of like the countrified American Idol. It's cool, but I don't think America could pick talent if it bit them in the butt. Sorry, America, but I don't. All the American Idol arttists are starting to sound the same.

I had Mom look at the Oscar Schmidt autoharp I wanted. The OS30C, but she didn't like it. I couldn't believe it, I also played her Tina Louise Barr, one of the world's greatest autoharp players. She didn't like her either, she said the instrument sounded tinny. Oh well, it doesn't put me off from getting one. As soon as Songbird is finished, and duplication paid for. I will do it as soon as that is done.

I joined Cyberpluckers, the autoharp E-mail list. I've met some people on this list who are just great. They all are trying to help me. Thank you to Jack as well for your help on autoharps, and which model to purchase. Well, I'm off to watch the end of Nashville Star and to put Gwen away. Talk to you later.

Love,
Mousey and Gwen

Good day!

2008-06-21T02:57:03Z

Location - My bedroom on my bed, BrailleNote in hand
Mood - Happy
Music - Court TV Forensic Files

Hi all,

I truly want to get better at doing these updates. Well, I had a wonderful day, I had some nice dingage and chattage with Lulu this morning, Lynn on VT, played a game of Supers, but scored 10 eggs. Yes, ug! that's pathetic I know. I will get better at it. Then I went off for a bit had a shower, lunch, and then spoke to Mom and made coffee. Got the chills, so had to get in bed for a bit. I took a nap, woke up and then had some nice dingage with Lulu again.

Last night I had some nice jamming with Jack and met Rachel from YORKSHIRE and Taylor from Texas. It was a good crowd, Jak G, Kay, Jack Scrimshaw, Rachel and Taylor. I think I got everyone in there, I hope so. I wouldn't want to leave anyone out on purpose, smile! It was fun, Jack was mt on guitar, and then I played Emily thanks to Kay for requesting it and Sweet Sir Galahad by Joan Beaz. It's been a long time since I've heard that song, and I have to perfect it on guitar and vocally. Despite Rachel's comment, it was great evening. I loved it, and if there is a way to control my vibrato, I want to know it. I think I can always improve u my music.

Tonight, Mom, Dad and I went to Pete's. I had two Malibou Bay Breezes, and then a roast beef sandwich with ranch dressing, onions and cheese. Yay! It was amazing, and Karin the waitress I love was there. I also met Pierce again the day bar tender. He has an extraordinary voice. Its gravelly and deep. I want to get a recording of it one day. Maybe next week, I will bring the Edirol along. Not much going on here, just hanging out. I may record Sweet Sir Galahad tomorrow that's about it from here, I may take Gwen out I'm not sure yet. Well, have a great day everyone!

Hugs and chirps,
Mouse and Gwen

rain, drinking, and autoharp

2008-06-14T22:56:07Z

Location - My den with Mom
Mood - happy and excited
Music - TV horse racing at the moment

Hi all,
I'm back! I'm having fun today. I had a nice chat with Jack and Nick from HKC radio. It was great, I'm glad as everyone else is that VT is back up. Much thanks to Jack and Kay for getting the server back up and running. I missed it. I let Gwen out this morning while I changed waters and gave them food. She was great, she chirped and whistled, and even let me pet her. That was grand! yay!

Last night we went to Pete's where I indulged myself in 2 Bay Breezes, and a Philly cheese steak. It was great, but that second drink put me to sleep. Oh well, the only unfortunately part of that was I missed Jack's show on The Phoenix. Sorry, Jack. I will be up for the Sunday Session.

Today we had a rainstorm, it was scary, thunder, lightning, birds going nutso! ug! I'm certainly glad it's over. I hope that it is anyway.

I heard from Marta my best friend from Iowa. She had to evacuate because of the flooding. My prayers and thoughts go out to her, all the Iowaians and the four boy scouts who were killed during the tornado the other day.

I was listening to Jack's Bluegrass and how it works Podcast. I've seriously gotten into the Autoharp. Thanks Jack for all the great tips. He told me to look at the Oscar Schmidt models. Then he sent me a podcast from Blind Cool Tech on a demo of the autoharp. What a brilliant instrument that is. I discovered a virtuoso autoharp player named Tina Louse Bar. She's amazing and has a CD of rock classics for autoharp. I'm not trying to promote her or anything, but if you like her, just go to:
http://www.cdbaby.com
and search for her. CDBABY is also where my music is not:, so I can vouch that they are a great site to discover new music. Tina's version of Ring of Fire is awesome! I might get an autoharp in the future. It may override the purchase of the Victor Reader Stream after Songbird duplication that is. Well, that's about it from here. Thanks from reading, have a great day!

Love,
Marissa and Little Gwenny

Low energy, pizza and fun

2008-06-12T03:11:56Z

Hi all,

Well, it's been a while, nothing new here, except trying to get over this depression about my test. Don't want to bore you with the woe is me postings. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I just have to keep remembering that. Family, friends, birdies! yay! Thanks to all for your support.

Well today started out with me dragging myself out of bed. I just thought it was tiredness at first, but I'm beginning to wonder. Yesterday I went to the dentist and had a tooth filled, not too painful. It was actually kind of neat. Today I volunteered again with Michael. He and his Mom took me out to lunch. We went for pizza, and they gave me flowers and a bracelet. I'm touched, and really
didn't expect that. That was the cool part of the day. Windows Registry went die today. Then how am I posting this? On the BrailleNote as public. But Windows came up with a weird registry message, that it was recovered and fixed or something odd. But right then, I had to go catch Para transit or as I call them Para Stranded to meet Michael. So I couldn't figure it out til I got back.

The pizza was great! and I loved meeting his Mom, a real sweet lady she is. Then I came home and felt quite awful. Lethargic and energyless. I've never felt this way before, I'm hoping it's just because of the heat, tomorrow I have to do graduation and sing. So I'm hoping I feel better. Well, I'm going to audio tape the singing if anyone wants to hear it. Mom is actually. With the R09. I had Gwenny out tonight and had a nice chat with Lynn. I'm off to bed now, and hoping that tomorrow is a better day. Hugs and chirps

Ris and Gwen

Test Day

2008-06-02T23:13:13Z

Hi all,

Well, I have some news to report. The test went well! I think I passed!

I seemed to not have as much trouble figuring out which one was the correct answer, but did I get enough questions right to score high enough to pass? Only time will tell. Now comes the hard part, the waiting game! I won't know for about a week yet. If I pass, I'll have a drink, if I don't I'll have two! I had three really nice proctors though.

Mom and I arrived at about 8 this morning to Iona College, Mom and Dad's college, they actually dated while they were students, and were engaged there. Aww! Sweeeeeet! The first man HARLYN Thomas was really nice, then at about 10, this other man came to relieve him named Tom Del Vechio, and then at about 12, this man named Cazmo pronounced Cosmo came to relieve him. I had Cazmo for the duration of my test. I finished at around 3-30, with a lunch break in between, and came home with Mom. She and Dad had to work today, so this morning was a rush around the house trying to get everything done! Ug! I'm glad that's over!

Well, I got my new TV yesterday! It's an Insignia the best Buy brand! Mom and I had quite a time setting it up. Dad helped as well, it's tiny compared to my last one, it has nice stereo sound though. I can't wait to listen to a concert on it! The cable box was giving us trouble and we had to phone cable vision, but we did and got it all sorted. It's nice to have TV again, I kind of missed it. Chat's more, we even got my Sony DVD recorder to work with it. It plays DVDS just fine, have to make sure it will record them though. Gwenny was just very mega sweet this morning! yay! She chirped and gave me kisses as I went off to my test, and this afternoon she whistled and chirped when I came home! I'm really lucky to have her, and I'm also blessed to have all my friends:

Lulu, Lynn, Jack, Kay, Kris, Danny, Sarah from Florida, Sarah Crosland, Amanda and I hope I got everyone. Nope Ally, but I'd like to thank you all you for your steadfast support, and E-mails of good luck. I love love love getting E-mail! especially when it's not spam! Well, I think I'll have a game of Super Egg Hunt before dinner. Thanks for reading! Please keep your fingers crossed!

Marissa and Little Gwenny

today's the day!

2008-06-02T10:16:28Z

Hi all,

I'm in my room sitting on oy bed as I type this. On the BrailleNote of course. I'm watching one of our local news shows Good Day New York, and thinking about my test. I had trouble getting to sleep last night, I guess I was nervous. But some coffee and breakfast will chase my tiredness away. I think I'm as ready as I can be. I'm going to try to go in there with as much confdience as I can muster. Not being confident doesn't work in my favor. I have to keep a positive attitude and just think I can do this. Thanks to all who have wished me luck, Lulu, Jack, Lynn, Danny, Amanda, Kay, my best friend Marta from Iowa, my parents and Gram. Hopefully I've listed everyone. Thanks to those I forgot to mention as well. I've studied, prepared as much as I could, and with a new testing environment and new proctors I'm hoping everything's in my favor. Well, I'm going to go get some coffee now. Thanks for reading all.

Marissa and Little Gwenny

New TV and exam tomorrow!

2008-06-01T17:37:43Z

Location - My living room
Mood - nervous and excited

Music - Pieces of the Sky album by Emmylou Harris

Hi all,

I'm just listening to Emmylou AKA 1975 her debut album Pieces of the Sky, I downloaded from MP3 Fiesta. Boulder to Birmingham is playing as I write this. Well, as the subject line says, new TV yay! My parents went to Best Buy and will return with a brand new HD TV. This was unexpected, well not unpected that my old one would go, but they're paying for it. I thought that since I'm working, they'd say no you're paying for it. But when I asked they said well, we didn't get you much for your birthday. I was really touched, their generosity is great, and I truly appreciate it.

I'm actually looking forward to having better sound quality, I really love watching concert DVDS, and the old TV a good one at the time, only had one speaker. I can't wait to hear what new TV sounds like yay! but the more pressing issue for me is that I'm nervous about my exam. My stomach is still giving me trouble. It will tighten into a ball whenever I try to eat or drink. Quite annoying and inconvenient if you ask me. But I'm hoping it's just stress, once my exam is over, we'll see what happens. Sinuses are all right this morning, not great but fair.

Last night I went out to dinner at Pete's and had a bacon cheese burger, onion rings and a Malibu Bay Breeze. It was great! I came back and let Gwenny and Snowy out. They were both excellent, and I put them both back when the rain started. I stueied yesterday and had some nice dingage with Lynn, Lulu, Jack and Danny. It was a nice day yesterday as I caught Jack's show and really loved it. I even have some of it on the Edirol. Well, that's about it from here. Not much to tell as today is still young. Have a great day all.

Marissa and Little Gwenny

Ding dong my TV's dead!

2008-05-30T02:53:25Z

Hi everyone,
Well, I had a lovely day today. It was great, even though it started out crappy. I had some dingage with Lynn this morning, and I had a go at Super Egg Hunt! I'm rubbish at that game, I really like playing it. Kind of like Top Speed I always come in laaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssstttttttttttt. I'm still having trouble eating things, and not getting a little nauseous afterwards, but hopefully it will pass soon. I've been battling sinuses and infections from my sinuses for quite some time now, I should be used to it. The problem is that it affects daily living, what you have to eat, when, how much, and so on. Oh well, if it doesn't work itself out by next week, off we go to the doctor's. In case you haven't realized it yet, I'm not a big fan of doctors, and try really hard not to complain about sinuses, oops, I've failed in that regard here. Sorry, I'll try to keep it positive! I have a lot to be thankful for, I don't have Cerebral Palsy as the doctors had predicted when I was born, I don't have any other disability other than blindness, and I'm thankful for that. Although I think of it as an ability, some people in our society are so superficial all they care about are looks. It makes me glad I get to make up a picture based on the people's voices. If I like them, I make up a really nice picture! a little sinus trouble isn't so bad. I had a nice day doing some top speed races with Jack, Jack G as well, Sarah from Florida, Joe, Kris and I'm not sure who else. It was bloody fun! I loved it, then went off to guitar lessons, and came back and had a pizza with Dad. Mom went to a retirement party. It was nice to have some Dad time. Both of them are really cool parents, but it's nice to be able to spend quality time with each of them together and separately. After that, did some social work, I'm really getting nervous about this test, folks. Oh well, I didn't take Gwenny out tonight as I was trying to study and she tries to eat the braille display on the BrailleNote. She thinks the dots are seeds. Smile! I feel terrible she hasn't been out, maybe I'll let her out tomorrow morning as I'm feeding everyone. I don't want her to think I'm neglecting her or I don't love her. Well, I guess that's about it from here, I'm off oh wait. I forgot the subject line of this entry.

Well, my TV went this afternoon, it just died the sound's gone never to come on again. The sound's gone along with the picture, I can't see it anyway, so who really cares about the picture? Oh well, it lived a nice long useful life, 7 years of service from way way way back in my college days. I can still play DVDS through it though, but I think it's just acting as a monitor instead of a real TV, the player is wiring the sound. Oh well, I'll have to get a new HD or high definition one this weekend. Luckily we have another TV in the den, and there's nothing I really want to watch anyway. Well, I guess that's about it from here. Thanks for reading and I will update tomorrow!

Musically,
Marissa and Little Gwennybird

I'm back again with another update

2008-05-29T09:10:30Z

Hi all,

How are you? I hope you are doing well, have some LJ's to catch up on. I'm writing from bed, its 4-30 in the morning, and I'm up with sinuses. They've plaguing me since last night, going to work was quite difficult, and I really don't understand why they're acting up, as the weathers been lovely. Oh well. I'm feeling quite lousy at the moment, maybe I'll get and and have a game of Super Egg Hunt. I'M rubbish at that game. I had some dingage with Lynn, as I'm also rubbish at entering in those LJ user links. Smile! Oh well.

My trip to the dentist on Tuesday was pretty good. It hurts though, he did the top right of my mouth, quadrant scaling he calls it. Nice euphemism for a teeth cleaning. Hopefully I'll feel better soon. The nerve that tingles more than hurts, is attached to the sinuses, so I don't know if that's where this is coming from. Oh well. Maybe I'll have to see the doctor after all. Sorry for the moaning and whinny post here, folks. I know I've blogged about my sinuses before, but today they're just shattered. I was asked to sing at graduation for my night school program PATHWAYS to Success. I'm singing the National Anthem. I have to look up the lyrics as I don't know them by heart. I'm not sure how I'm going to sing either, I mean I may have to work out an arrangement on guitar. Oh well, it will all work itself out. I've been studying social work like crazy. My test is June 2. I'm nervous! I had Gwen out on Monday night, she wasn't to being petted, but she whistled and chirped. Aww! she's just so adorable! I love that bird! Well, I guess that's about it from here. I'll update more later. Thanks to Lynn and Lulu for the great chats! Have fun!

Musically,
Marissa and Little Gwenny

Update and a Robin's Egg

2008-05-25T21:49:32Z

Hi all,

Just wanted to do a quick update. Well, last night was interesting, I had throuble getting to sleep because I was in bed all day with a blazing headache. I went to sleep about 6 this morning, and woke up about 12. I was just lying in bed, but I couldn't sleep, so I watched TV, browsed bookshare and that's about it. I went out to dinner last night with Mom, Dad and Grandma Manzino my Dad's Mom. Her birthday was Tuesday, so we had a double celebration. We went to this quaint little tavern Pete's, where we all enjoyed a few drinks, and rib eye steak with mushrooms and onions. Yumsk! it was yummy! I had my usual a Malibu Bay Breeze. It was great, then we sang happy birthday, and had a delicious brownie with ice cream and sprinkles for dessert. Everyone helped me finish it thank goodness! I never could have finished all of it myself. I'm trying to get better at updating my LJ, when I have something worth while to update about.

Dad was on the roof yesterday cleaning out the gutters, and he found a Robin's egg. Mom put it under a light to act as a make shift incubator. But it didn't work, the chick must not be viable. Poor chick, maybe I'll write a song about that. Well, nothing too much new, had some nice dingage with

http://wordwizard.livejournal.com
http://kwpodcast.livejoovoal.com
http://afro_thunder.livejournal.com
http://kaydear.livejournal.com

It was nice, just doing some social work now, and going to watch a movie I got from Blind Mice Mart. It's called Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid its audio described yay! I also downloaded True Grit, I'VE never seen that one either. My folks have though. I took Gwen out this morning, she was so cute, chirping whistling and letting me pet her! I love her so much! My beautiful little Gwen. Well, that's about it from here. Take care and have fun!

Marissa and the Gwennybird