Jared W. Smith

Well I was tagged days ago by Patrick to drop seven random facts about me. It’s convenient that today is the Day of Sevens, so my tardiness actually seemed to work out pretty well. :)

1. I throw six pitches with a stress ball: Fastball, slider, changeup, split-finger, curveball, and a knuckleball.
2. I played World of Warcraft for about two days. Unlike most of the free world, I didn’t get hooked.
3. My first website had black text on a lime background with a red scrolling marquee that read “The Ultimate Windows Launchpad” in Times New Roman. It was created in FrontPage Express, which I at the time lambasted for using “strong” and “em” to bold and italicize, respectively. Eight years later, it turns out FrontPage Express was more semantically correct than its now-discontinued commercial counterpart, and I today use “strong” and “em” like nobody’s business.
4. I first got into listening to rock music when I was in 7th grade at a Stingrays hockey game. It was the beginning of the third period when these dramatic pianos came over the PA, followed by a thundering bass riff or two. I spent a long time trying to figure out who that was. It ended up being Van Halen. Obsession: born.
5. I listen to songs repeatedly for hours at a time. I’m very famous for this. I try to grow out of it, but you know, it’s very difficult to do. I can’t avoid getting on a “kick.”
6. Every girl that I have had even a remote romantic encounter with, I’ve first talked to over the Internet.
7. I am quite the procrastinator, hence why this will get submitted at 11:59. LOL.

So who are the lucky seven being tagged? How about…

1. Joan
2. Phil
3. Heather
4. Chuck
5. Chris
6. (Notoriously Nice) Mike
7. Jason (maybe he can share 7 facts about the S.C. Photography Guild?)

If you’re tagged, fill out seven facts about yourself and tag seven more. Leave comments on the tagged blogs letting them know. Otherwise, like, you’ll get bad luck or something. :P

Well if one believes in luck, this is the ultimate day. We won’t see another 7/7/07 until the next century, by which time I’m pretty sure most of us will be dead.

It was a fantastic day for my friends Greg and Tanessa as they were married in a wonderful ceremony today. It was a fun wedding, complete with Greg busting a move to “White and Nerdy” by Weird Al among other highlights. I also must say that their choice in music was fantastic, especially the jazz music preceding their first dance. My coworker friends and I were pretty floored at just how good the music was. Here’s wishing them another round of congratulations and a fantastic honeymoon!

The weather is a bit wet out tonight, so the city is basically dead. I decided to stay in for the rest of the day and watch TV and the thunderstorms. I also caught some of the Live Earth sets on YouTube. Metallica’s set, in particular, was awesome. Nothing Else Matters, Enter Sandman, and Sad But True were the songs, performed with an intensity I haven’t seen from James Hetfield in a long time. He even busted out his Explorers for the set — we haven’t seen much of those in the recent past because the Explorers are a bit harder on his balky back.

In the time that I have to really listen to music, it’s been pretty much all Journey, all the time. I got onto this Journey kick at my friend Sarah’s birthday party at Mad River last weekend, I think, when “Don’t Stop Believing” got stuck in my head. Now, though, it’s “Only The Young” and “Wheel in the Sky” making the cranial rounds. “Only the Young” is one of those songs that I wish I was in love with someone while listening to. I know that’s a weird thing, but I have a few songs like that (Ambiguous Headdress by Tribe of Judah is another one of those). The vibe is just amazing. Journey has some sweet harmonies. I haven’t dug much into their catalog beyond their hits — I’m sure there are some gems there. Neal Schon, in particular, is a kickass guitarist.

It’s been a good July for me, especially professionally. My job at College of Charleston as Webmaster became permanent this past week, so I’m extremely excited and pleased about that development. My place has gotten quite a nice realignment and I’m really getting to know my new housemates, who are all great people. Needless to say I don’t spend much time on a computer outside of work — not necessarily a bad thing.