I’m in the airport in Tampa. I’ve completed another installation for my work. I was able to complete my work early today and found myself having to burn up about 7 hours. Having been here several times, I had less wanderlust than I’ve had previously. Wait! Let’s start from the beginning instead. Yesterday, I arrived in Tampa and after some difficulty, I got my rental car. Since I’ve been here several times, I arrogantly thought that I knew where I was going. So, I arrived at the Tampa plant and asked around for my contact. I stood around chatting with one of the postal folks there. After about 15 or so minutes, I realized that I was in the wrong plant! He gave me directions to the Annex down the road, but true to form, I got lost. What’s worse is that I didn’t have the physical address, so I was sort of doomed to wander until I bumped into it. After an additional 15 minutes of wandering in the wilderness, I did happen upon it.
    After a few minutes I realized that we didn’t have all the parts we would need so it was back to the Plant for us! We got the missing parts and returned to the Annex. I plugged everything in and began to do what I know how to do, when I hit a snag… A parameter that I changed locked me out of the process, and I was running out of options. So, I called our Senior level guy, and he basically told me to try everything that I had already tried, and that I was probably screwed if that didn’t work. I was beginning to feel a stress headache beginning, and I was literally sweating because it’s warmer in Tampa than I expected. After talking to my co-worker I went back inside trying to figure out what I was going to do next, when lo and behold, the system decided to let me back in so that I could reverse that pesky parameter. The rest of the installation went smoothly with the exception that it took too long to finish it in one day.
    I was grumpy last night. The installation bugged me, but not as much as being away from home. I can’t explain why I was grumpy exactly, but I’m pretty sure that it was because all of my toys are at home. Which really isn’t fair, I had internet, TV and books to read. I guess maybe I was lonely, which is strange because I live alone and sort of prefer it most of the time. My roommate moved out at the beginning of the month and I’m happy to have the house to myself again, even though he was hardly here when he did live here.
    I’m formulating a plan for the downstairs room. My iPod should be arriving next week, and I’m finishing up my refinancing which will allow me to play with some money. I plan to buy a weight bench so that I can work off some of this fat and convert it back to muscle. I was looking at a picture of me in a bathing suit and I had a legitimate 6-Pack! With my iPod I can easily work out to something other than silence. Hopefully the refinancing will finish this Friday and I might have gained a friend as well! K if you’re reading this, ha ha! You’re immortalized now!
    I find it strange that I continue to connect well with people who don’t live anywhere near me. I think it can be attributable to one of two possible scenarios. Either I’m just a lot more charismatic on the phone and in my writings or I don’t risk anything when talking to people who are near me and thus I take chances with the people from afar that I wouldn’t take with those right in front of my eyes. Most likely, it’s a combination of the two. I’ve been told that I’m good on the phone, and writing is an avenue where I can give things a thought before writing and thus I’m more witty than I would be on the cuff.
    I’ve become so excited by this new U2 album that I’ve joined a U2 forum where you can chat with other fans and get information about the new album. I belonged to a group called Wire back in 1997 when U2 was on the Popmart tour and I made some good friends for a time. This time around the friends I’m making span at least 9 time zones, perhaps even more. Last time, the friends I made were all located around Albany or NYC. Right now I frequently talk to someone who lives in Copenhagen, someone who originated in South Africa but now lives in London, someone who lives in Oregon and someone in Ohio; and those are just the regulars. With my frequent downloading of U2 bootlegs, I’ve amassed a good deal of concerts and as a present I sent 4 DVD’s worth of music to my new friends. All in all, I was able to fit 35 concerts, which made up about 850 songs! This is all on one disc. Impressive! I haven’t even been able to listen to all these yet. It will take them forever. Meanwhile, they have also sent me songs to check out and I’ve found some new bands and some new discs to buy. It’s neat! My friend from Copenhagen sent me a song that is sung in Danish and she translated the lyrics for me. When I get my iPod, I’m definitely throwing it on there! I want to :wave: at my new U2 friends. I’ll just say hi by initial, as is my style. :D Hello out there D, D, R, R and T!! :wave:’s furiously!
Not everything is peachy in U2 land. The entire album was leaked onto the internet this past Saturday morning and the forum has been abuzz. The vocal majority has been downloading the album, but a small minority have stood their ground and are waiting for the official release date which is in 13 days. I’ve decided to wait for the official release. I want to savor it. I want to make it special. I think that I will take a drive through the countryside of Northwest Virginia. I will drive just long enough to listen to the album twice.
What else is going on in my life? Hmm, *scratches goatee* Oh yeah, I’m growing it out again. I think it matches my haircut well. It might be my imagination, but I feel as though I’m getting noticed more by those of the opposite sex. It makes me look older, but I’m unsure if that’s really what I want. Once I peel off a few pounds I think I will like it better. My face is a bit fatter than it was. When I get back home, I’ll share a picture I took of myself on Monday night.
    I know now, I got sidetracked about my trip. I finished up work pretty early today and found myself with at least 7 hours to kill. I drove to Clearwater and stopped at the beach. I was vastly over dressed, especially since people were still swimming, on November 10th! I did not bring shorts or sandals, so I arrive at the beach with khakis and a button-down long sleeve shirt; dark too. I had a camera to take pictures. They will be here later. I’ll finish my narrative later. I need to grab a quick bite to eat.

Tampa Bay	Kenneth	Sun

    I have a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful for all the blessings that have been given to me. I own my home, my family is dear to me, I have a job that has me doing exciting things and seeing exciting places. I have a church where the people are genuine, and care about what happens to me and I have friends that are becoming closer by the days and weeks. There remains one thing missing, but let's not dwell on that right now. It's a time to count your blessings, not to recount your deficiencies.

    My parents and my sister's family came over for Thanksgiving. We hung out at my house for most of the day and then traveled over to my brother's for dinner. I was a total U2 acolyte yesterday. :D.  My mom had already written a check to me so that I would pick up the new album. So now she has a copy of it. My sister has seen the Vertigo iPod ad and is really curious about the new album. My brother is also receptive to it. I let him borrow my iPod for his first listen. I think he'll like it. So U2 for everyone this Christmas! I've already purchased 7 copies for myself. Yeah, I'm a nut! I got the CD, the Deluxe CD and the Special Edition CD sets, I got them for both the US and the UK. Then I bought the LP to boot. So 7 in all. Crazy!

    I managed to abstain from listening to the album until the official release date. The only song I heard was played on SNL and it is was fabulous. So I had pretty much an unspoiled first listen to the album at about 12:07 AM on Tuesday, November 23rd. It feels like more than 3 days ago that I first heard this album. It's a really good album! If you liked the last one, this one is much better. The last album was good, but pedestrian in comparison. It was safe. This is rock / pop but it's undeniably rich as well. It's going to be awesome live. It was said by one reviewer that All That You Can't Leave Behind was U2's 3rd Masterpiece. I think they were just gleeful that U2 were back to being U2. This album is U2 in full flight and deserves consideration in the top 3 of U2's career. The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby were the first two. Album sales and zeitgeist will help to determine if this is becomes a seminal album for 2004 and 2005. I hope so, it deserves to be heard. It's hard to pick favorites because nearly every song is rock solid and unskippable. I won't pick anything but I'll go ahead and give a thumbnail of each song.

Vertigo: An outstanding first single. It's a jubilant little 3 minutes of music. But it's much deeper than the gritty sheen lets on. It's about temptation and redemption.

Miracle Drug: Mid-tempo song that starts wonderfully and ends wonderfully. A strong song, but probably not a single. It grows like the best U2 songs do. The music is insistent and full. So, it's kind of warm.

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own:  A U2 classic in the making. It's a song written to Bono's Dad who died in 2001, and if you let it, it will reduce you to tears. You feel what it's like to want your father to be proud of you. Bono is on top of the world, but approval was still hard to attain. Expect to hear this one on the radio sometime in the spring.

Love And Peace Or Else: If you forgot that U2 like Rock & Roll, this one will have you taking a 2nd glance. This is a heavy piece of music that is just rumbles and rolls to it's conclusion. It's not my favorite, but that's only because of style preferences. It's actually a groovy little number. I've always been about melody and this one is about mood.

City Of Blinding Lights: This one is getting better and better in my ears. I want to begin floating when this one comes on. I want to get up and dance and twirl around. One of my favorites on this album. It could be a single, but time will tell. It might just be one of those awesome songs that only U2 fans know. It will be excellent in concert. Get your lighters ready for Blinding Lights.

All Because Of You: The second single from the album. This is song is better than it deserves to be based on the fairly simple song structure, but then the back half of the song just pulls you in. Bono is howling and the Edge has a killer guitar solo. This will either be a huge hit or a clunker. Strange that it could polarize so much, but it's just like that.

A Man And A Woman: This is a sleeper song. It's great for couples and could be a single, or another hidden wonder on an album full of them. It's U2 like you've never heard them before and that's great!

Crumbs From Your Table: One of the songs that gets stronger and stronger each time you listen to it. It deals with the plight of people in Africa who don't have the luxury of having grown up here and how that inequity is causing them their lives. Given the heavy material in this song it surprising that it is not bogged down by it's own themes.

One Step Closer: I like this one better than most people. It's a slow brooding song or an oasis among some really strong songs. Some say that they could do without it, but I think it's really good for the album.

Original Of The Species: If this wasn't such a stellar album, I'd actually have this one on repeat. It could / should be a single and would be a welcome Summer song. I guarantee you'll love this one.

Yahweh: I adore this song. It's a humble plea for God to make things right in a man and in the world. It's upbeat and exalting. It's amazing how upbeat the music is despite the heavy themes laced throughout the album. I think it adds layers to the album that allows many to enter and get something out of it. The best of U2 has always allowed for multiple interpretations and feelings.

Fast Cars: (This one is only available on select versions) This one makes me want to jig in my chair and had it fit musically on the album it would have been just another reason for buying this one. You can find this one on the Special Edition here in the states.

    In addition to all of this excitement surrounding a new album, U2 has also released the Complete U2 digital boxset on iTunes. It includes 446 songs (although some of them are duplicates, but even with duplicates it's over 400 songs!) I have most of these songs but they have released some previously unreleased demos which are really great, but I'm so enamored of the new album that I can't get move onto anything new even if it's U2.

    I've also been able to share all this U2 joy with U2 fans I've met on Interference. Some strong friendships and relationships are developing, I hope I never lose them. Because we are separated by geography it isn't likely, but I can dream about it :) With concert season approaching I might get to lay my eyes on these new pals of mine. Hello T, you I gotta meet! :wave:

    I finished my refinancing of my house. I got the money back to me and I'm very pleased by how it all went. Thanks K! I've paid off my credit card and my student loan, I've put some money into  mutual funds and have left a healthy amount in savings. The security is really peaceful to have and I feel even more free to dream about the possibilities. This, just like everything else is a supreme blessing.

    The last thing I want to talk about is my impending trip to Alaska and Colorado. Yeah, I'm going to see Alaska for the first time! On the way back I'm planning to stop in Colorado and spend a few days with my buddy R. It will be cool. He's a U2 nut like I am and we've been talking frequently about everything under the sun. It's been really cool like that. He's been a big help lately. I try to help him with his iPod and he tries to help me sort my heart out about the female landscape around me. I've named my iPod flyPod and it currently has 4774 songs on it. Crazy!

    Oh and I shaved the goatee. I made a mistake when trying to trim it and the whole thing had to go. I'd show pictures but the self-portrait at arm's length makes my face look fatter than it actually is. Vanity is winning over self-promotion right now. Wait, they are probably the same thing. Anyway, I'm buying a weight bench tomorrow. Maybe even today. Well, I gotta go now.