the times, they are a changin'
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the times, they are a changin' |
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hey everyone, sorry it's been a while.. i recorded a cover of death cab for cutie's "line of best fit" and put it on my music page. i also have a new song almost finished. all that's left is to record the vocals. i think it would make a perfect last song on my cd  in other news i met a fantastic girl named Anna. she goes to college about two miles from my house so we've been hanging out a lot lately. but oh man, the biggest news ever.. i get to see ben gibbard! he's donig a solo tour and kicking it off in my home state! he's playing in minneapolis but i think a two-and-a-half hour drive is well worth it to see the guy who inspired my songwriting. and did i mention tickets are only $20? woo! so other than that..i've just been sitting around all day. i tested a crack and managed to get my vista ultimate to become "genuinely" activated. (go me) and now i'm just messing around, downloading dreamscenes from the wincustomize website. oh, i should probably mention this: we had a blizzard! one day you could see the grass out on the front lawn..the next there was thunder, lightning, visibility of about 10 feet and about 3 feet of snow (not counting the drifts that were taller than me!) the entire city was basically shut down. they wouldn't even let the plows on the road until the next day. this lasted for two days. haha now today it's about 40 degrees and everything is melting. weird. well i'm going to go. have a good day everyone, -dustin |
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hii, well, i put a new song on my myspace page last night. it's called "Just Like You." i think it turned out EXTREMELY well. especially for someone who hasn't written a song on a guitar in over a month  it's sounds a little poppy...but i blame that on my constant listening to acoustic pop songs haha. and jon brion, of course. anyway, let me know what you think! feedback is the best part http://www.myspace.com/dustinralston thanks! have a good night, -dustin |
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oh man. it's above 40 degrees! i'm going skateboarding. -dustin |
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today was fun. my friends came down from virginia and we all hung out uptown. we ended up stopping at pawn america for some cheesy horror films. i ended up buying two cds...but only because i realized they were from the minneapolis label "afternoon records." the cds are really good! a little on the emo side..but it's like 90's emo...back before the whiny voices and horribly over-produced melodies took over. anyway, after hanging out in the mall, eating at wendy's, and visiting PA, me and frankie drove back to virginia for our night class (the teacher let us out early!!) after class we just hung out in a lecture hall with the lights off haha. she told me about her stalker, and how now he's stalking rachel? weird. so now i guess i'm rachel's temporary boyfriend when he's around. i started writing again i missed it. it's been over a month since i've written anything with my guitar. hoooopefully i'll have it recorded and online soon. well, time for me to sleep now. it's 1am. have a good night everyone, -dustin |
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well my buddy ashton just had a spur of the moment idea that we should do a show together. holy cow! that would be amazing! i'm not exactly sure who would come and watch/listen but it would still be a blast. especially since i've yet to do anything live in my hometown (how lame is that?) i have to admit though, just thinking about this is making me nervous.. i'm a home recording g33k! not a performing artist. but hey, it's worth a shot. and it'd probably be a total blast so it's definitely worth it! i should probably start playing my own songs though huh? of course, i'll throw in a few covers..get the crowd singing. (haha like my backstreet boys cover of "i want it that way" at an open mic. people even jumped on stage and danced behind me! what a blast.) well we still need to convince some people to let us play..but he's on top of that. (thanks by the way. i have no idea what to do when it comes to booking.) oh hey, i won that open mic last thursday. free mesabi range sweatshirt! it's actually pretty nice (and worth $40.) thank you to everyone who was there and supported me! no video clips this time...i have some VERY low quality recordings from the mic on my mp3 player...but unfortunately you can't hear me at all because everyone's talking in the background (darnnn) i played "we looked like giants" by death cab for cutie and "st. swithin's day" by billy bragg. i personally (still) don't think i should have won though..this girl stacey (possibly a new friend?) is an AMAZING singer, and did an excellent job of performing spur of the moment, not to mention my friend jake learning the song on the spot. well friends, i better hit the hay. i'm tirrrrred. plus i'll be touring college campuses with my friends and then driving to virginia and back for a 3-hour 6pm night class tomorrow. (ugh) sweet dreams everyone, -dustin |
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well my buddy ashton just had a spur of the moment idea that we should do a show together. holy cow! that would be amazing! i'm not exactly sure who would come and watch/listen but it would still be a blast. especially since i've yet to do anything live in my hometown (how lame is that?) i have to admit though, just thinking about this is making me nervous.. i'm a home recording g33k! not a performing artist. but hey, it's worth a shot. and it'd probably be a total blast so it's definitely worth it! i should probably start playing my own songs though huh? of course, i'll throw in a few covers..get the crowd singing. (haha like my backstreet boys cover of "i want it that way" at an open mic. people even jumped on stage and danced behind me! what a blast.) well we still need to convince some people to let us play..but he's on top of that. (thanks by the way. i have no idea what to do when it comes to booking.) oh hey, i won that open mic last thursday. free mesabi range sweatshirt! it's actually pretty nice (and worth $40.) thank you to everyone who was there and supported me! no video clips this time...i have some VERY low quality recordings from the mic on my mp3 player...but unfortunately you can't hear me at all because everyone's talking in the background (darnnn) i played "we looked like giants" by death cab for cutie and "st. swithin's day" by billy bragg. i personally (still) don't think i should have won though..this girl stacey (possibly a new friend?) is an AMAZING singer, and did an excellent job of performing spur of the moment, not to mention my friend jake learning the song on the spot. well friends, i better hit the hay. i'm tirrrrred. plus i'll be touring college campuses with my friends and then driving to virginia and back for a 3-hour 6pm night class tomorrow. (ugh) sweet dreams everyone, -dustin |
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so the open mic at my school is on thursday.. and in trying to keep with the whole "valentine's day" theme...here's what i plan on playing: * Elliott Smith - Say Yes * Death Cab for Cutie - We Looked Like Giants * Billy Bragg - St. Swithin's Day * I Like You * Andrew Kenny - Hometown Fantasy of course, that's if no one else wants to do anything and they need a time filler. otherwise, i'll just be doing "giants" and one of the others (i haven't decided yet) if i play "i like you" it will be my first time ever playing one of my own songs for somebody..but then again, this will only be my third time on stage new dsl is pretty neat. 1.5mb down, 896kb up. not bad for $20/mo.  (thanks dad!)my teacher kept calling me Derek today. haha my name is Dustin. oh well. no big deal. i just thought it was funny. i never know what to write anymore... take care, -dustin |
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haha..dennis the menace. appointment for tomorrow has been made. i'll be meeting with a school adviser about dropping ethics and writing II in order to switch to part-time status and work toward my business diploma. dad's helping me find a job tonight. which is the first time in a long time that anyone in my family has volunteered to help me. we'll see if he really goes through with it. hooking up our DSL! no more hacking wifi keys for this boy. of course, this all depends on whether or not my dad picks up the right router after work. i'm excited. i can't wait to live on my own again. my eyes hurt. i think i'm going to take a nap. goodnight world, -dustin |
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so things with the girl may or may not have worked out. i thought we were flirting the entire day. but maybe it was just being a great close friend. guitar lessons, back massage, homework help, sharing food between classes, coming to visit me while i was working, sitting by me at dinner, drawing pictures on our napkins together. i gave her an early valentine. and she smiled as she looked at me and asked "are you serious?" i smiled back and all she said was "..ohh" and that was that? from then on, our conversation basically ended. her ex-boyfriend, who is desperately trying to win her back, showed up. and he basically absorbed the attention from everyone at the table. except for me, because i didn't know what to think of the whole situation. but hey, as i've been sitting here and preparing for whatever may happen, i've been weighing the possible future outcomes of this whole thing. and either way, it won't be so bad. on a side-note: i may have an apartment lined up. (thanks to my pal hannah from superior!) $550/mo. all utilities included + cable tv. 1 bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom, pantry. i just need to talk to my dad about working at the credit union again. otherwise i'll find another job. i have heartburn again. i should really take the medicine that's been sitting on the shelf for months. eh. i feel like saying hooray! so hooray! take care, -dustin |
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ohhh i remember the old EmoBlog days. the website has really grown up since then! haha when i first came here, i was looking for an alternative to LiveJournal. but...then i fell in e-love and decided to make this my permanent home. i just realized that on February 28th, i will have officially been at this website for three years! crazy. my original blog, which basically turned into the devblog for an unfinished program for this website, can be found here: http://www.aeonity.com/croca_crola so in my three years here, i've managed to become the official "Content Moderator" for aeonity.com and at one point was an unofficial software developer. not to mention, self-appointed random welcome message commenter. i love this website! everything from the soundboards to games to blogs to members. i just wanted to say thank you to David and Frost for making such an excellent website! keep up the good work guys! -Dustin Ralston (#1 fan?) |
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dad got DSL (finally!) he was still mad that i went back to virginia again though. but..it wasn't my fault! the bookstore sold me the wrong books. oh yeah, before i forget. gdc, i liked her before i knew she had a boyfriend. haha i think i confuse people who read my blog..i hardly ever tell the entire story on here. sometimes i'm so metaphorical that the readers can't even tell the difference between my reality and poetry (or whatever you want to call it) anyway, so..her boyfriend told me that they had broken up two weeks ago. which i said i had no idea. he replied "that's because i'm trying to win her back. and i'm thiiiiisssss close." but i really don't think he's close at all. today, i took a step out of the group activities/conversations (something i often do) but this time i just sat and watched them. it was weird. he was struggling so hard to get her back but she was constantly pushing him away. then he tried to kiss her and she immediately got up and sat by me. haha then she drew on my face with lip gloss. i don't know what to think of all of this. i mean, i like her a lot. and it seems that everyday i see her, she pays more and more attention to me. but i don't want to "move in" or anything because i don't want to be the jerk friend. drama drama drama. haha i've never experienced it before. anyway, this sounds really corny. but the other day when we were at subway we came up with this thing called "lovenoculars" which is basically doing binoculars with your hands, only your hands make a heart. so today, as i turned the corner to leave. i looked back and she did the lovenoculars thing. cheesy, but i loved it. tuesday seems so far away.. brr i'm cold. i started the RPM Challenge today. one song written so far, but i doubt it will be used on the final cd. it would fit better with the "happi diari" project. man, i'm such a busy guy. music: drpg, discobot, happi diari, rpm full-time college student. part-time job. i feel like talking to myself tonight, which is why this blog is so incredibly long compared to my others. this weekend, my dad and i are going to buy a wireless router for our new dsl service. time to end this blog. it's starting to get pretty random. sweet dreams world. -dustin |
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it's funny how the songs i write come true. i was listening to an old one of mine from the beginning of the school year and it describes the exact situation i'm in now (but wasn't at the time i wrote it) prophetic lyrics? anyway, i don't know what i'm going to do about school. when i'm there, i love it. when i come home i feel like i'm drowning. it's so weird. the minute i walk in the door i can just feel this huge amount of stress and discomfort and negativity pour all over me. i feel so peaceful when i'm away. maybe i could start going part-time. and get a full-time job. and get my own place up there. i really need to figure out what i'm doing with my life. or at least this itty bitty segment of it. i have a problem with sitting around too much. gosh, i like you so much! too bad you're in a relationship with a friend of mine. i don't have the slightest bit of control anymore. darn. night, -dustin. |
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so i was talking with my good friend hannah last night (i have a bunch of friends named hannah..this is the one from wisconsin) i was basically having a breakdown because i really can't seem to handle catching up in my online classes. (i still say the school is at fault for me being a week behind) anyway, finally it came down to how the only reason i'm in school right now is to please my parents. especially my mom. my real plan was to get a decent job, which i had, and then once i had enough money saved i would move out. then once i get everything situated and comfortable..i would go to school. instead, my mom yelled at me until i found a school. i purposely chose one away from home. well, now that i'm sitting on an extra $500 she helped me decide what i need to do. all last night i dreamt about different apartments. haha the weird thing was, the guy who was showing me the apartment was wrestling alligators at the same time and kept them all in a room. (weird dreams i have) in the dream, i was looking around and working out where i would have my bedroom and studio setup. and what my living room looked like. and since i've already been in an apartment that i could easily move into, i had envisioned it pretty well. anyway, what i'm trying to say is that i can't handle school right now. i'm taking the break-in, the school screwing me over, and the extra money as a sign to do what i want for a change. i'll be going to the school in virginia pretty soon to hang out before my night class. you can bet i'll be looking for apartments and jobs in the paper. ...and that's all. -dustin |
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so..i finally decided to get some extra ram today and install windows vista on my computer. haha that makes for three operating systems on this computer right now! anyway, best buy is selling 512mb pc3200 sdram for only $45 this week. so i picked some up. i had the RTM build 6000 of windows vista lying around (i downloaded it a while ago but could never install it) i was skeptical at first (especially after trying out the Vista Transformation Pack for WinXP) but to tell you the truth, this os is actually pretty neat. ok, so there aren't really that many new features. but the whole "Vista Aero" thing is pretty neat. lots of transparency and animation. i do kind of feel like the os is "dummy-proof" though. sometimes a little too much. some advanced things like changing the desktop settings are now seperated into different windows instead of tabs. which makes changing your background, themes, etc. slightly longer to do. annoying i dunno though, this is only the first day so i can't say too much about it. haha this blog is turning into a review. oh man. another new song is in the works! i should be recording vocals for "pixelations" tomorrow and hopefully finishing up my new untitled song. this cd is coming along really well i think. the storyline is basically set, i just need a few more dancey songs and maybe one or two mellow ones and it should be done. next month will be nuts. not only am i trying to finish this electronic album by valentine's day, but i'm also going to be writing an entire acoustic/folk/pop album by the 28th for the RPM Challenge. woe is me. (haha i don't know why i said that) goodnight boys and girls and men and women and humans and aliens and plants and animals and every other living organism in the universe. take care, -dustin |