PA system gone

So, yesterday I finally sold my PA system on Craigslist for the same exact price I bought it for about 6 years ago: $200.  During that 6 years, I had many great memories with this mixer and set of speakers.

I originally bought it from Craigslist from some guy in Provo that had been storing it in his garage, so we could actually hear the vocals as my band, By The Exit, had practices.  My first memories of the system date back to our days in the Sinclair Mansion in the summer of 2008.  I don't know if any pictures of these times exist, but it was a magical summer.  We lived on 800 North, right across from the Sinclair gas station (pretty close to J-dawgs and south side of BYU campus).  3/4 of the band lived in the house: Me, Jordan Rasmussen, and Mika Parmley.  We also lived with our good friend, Dan Barlow.  Lars Shurilla was already married by this time, but he was an essential part of By The Exit as well.  We set up the drums, guitar amps, and PA system in Mika and Jordan's room in the basement.  We had a black light, along with laundry detergent to write our band name and other things on the wall.

One thing I do recall that summer is not having any air conditioning, so we spent a lot of time on the porch or in the front yard.  We would bring out the couches, TV, and hook up the DVD player to the PA system and watch movies and Planet Earth on the front lawn.  Whoever was walking by on the street was welcome to stop by and chat or watch the movie with us.  I also remember one particular day that we had a shirtless black-light jam session in the basement.  When Mika took his shirt off, we knew it was a magical moment.  Mikachu!!

Each of us used to fill a gallon milk jugs of water and stick it in the fridge.  We would just chug them when we got too hot.  That was our AC system.  Also, it was much hotter upstairs, so Dan ended up sleeping on the floor of my bedroom in the basement halfway through the summer.

The PA system has been used as the primary sound system for approximately 6 weddings, including my own.  I wrote and played a song for my wife at our wedding reception on this system.  Lots of fun dancing and music was provided through these speakers.  It was used for acoustic house parties and many church functions.  I will miss it, but I'm not too attached to objects and I know I can always buy a much nicer system someday.

Transportation Adventure

On a recent trip back from visiting family in Utah for my grandfather's 80th birthday, I decided to test out the transportation network in LA.  My day started off with my mom driving me to the airport in Salt Lake City.  I could've taken the Frontrunner/Trax connection, but I'll save that for another trip.

-My flight left SLC around 10:30am and I arrived at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) at around 11:15am (Total cost: $2.50, I had frequent flyer miles so I only had to pay a small tax).

Somewhere in the sky over Utah

-When I landed, I had to take a shuttle to the main part of the airport (I was in one of those little planes).  I went down to the ground transport area to take the LAX flyaway bus to Union Station in downtown LA, which arrived around 11:40am.  After being crammed in the small airplane seat, this bus was luxury.  It is a coach bus with leather seats and foot rests.  (Total cost: $8).

Union Station in downtown LA

-I arrived at Union Station in downtown LA, which is the main hub for subway, train, and bus lines.  As Lizzy and I found out when we visited here in December, it is a great place for people watching.  I took the 12:40pm Metrolink train to Downtown Riverside.  The train was peaceful and I got to kick off my shoes for a while and stretch out.  So much better than fighting LA traffic (Total cost: $13.25).

A fuzzy view of LA from the train

-I got to Riverside at around 2 pm and got on the #1 RTA (Riverside Transit Authority) bus that drops me off a short walk from our house. (Cost: Free because UCR students ride free on RTA).

It was definitely an adventure of walking, trains, planes, busses, shuttles, and automobiles.  If only I could've rode my bike and swam across some body of water, it would've been perfect.  And the whole experience cost me less than $25!