Looking for a Great Mechanic and Tire Shop?

I have had the joy and privilege (sarcasm) of getting some repairs done on my 1992 Dodge Shadow. The shocks and struts were shot, I needed four new tires, and I have an oil leak of unknown origin. For the shocks and struts and the diagnosing of the oil leak, I took the car to Just Right Auto, 13106 NE Fourth Plain in Vancouver, 360-260-2260 and they did a fantastic job. Dropped the car off Thursday morning, and got it back Friday morning. The shocks and struts are replaced, and they put a dye kit in the oil to trace where the leak is. Great service, fast, and they appreciate their customers!

To further my experience today, I took the car to Richey's Tire Factory on Mill Plain, right off the 205 by Wal-Mart. I told them I wanted four new tires, they helped me to get the ones that were in my price range, and then put them on. I was out of there in about 15-20 minutes. Great service, they love what they do, and they have HD TV with Comcast in the waiting area. How cool is that!!!

I highly recommend both places!

Speeding Towards the New Year!

With my 28th birthday and Christmas behind me, I have a new stack of DVDs to enjoy this week! My brother-in-law and sister-in-law got me the Limited Edition 2-Disc version of "V for Vendetta," which comes complete with the graphic novel that the movie was based on, pretty cool! My wife's parents surprised me with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and the special edition of "Batman Begins," my mom got me U2's "Zoo TV" concert, and I have greatly enjoyed that DVD, very innovative, creative and, perhaps, crazy. In the vein of music, my wife got me the Metallica Videos DVD, awesome! With the rest of the money I got for my birthday, I bought Dream Theater's "Score" DVD, Coldplay's "Live 2003" and U2's "U218 Videos." I am a music buff and thoroughly enjoy all of those DVDs! Not to mention the Greatest Hits Jimi Hendrix CD and the book "U2byU2!!!"

It was a great Christmas, and now I prepare myself for the end of the business year! Here is to year one of Chris Martin Studios!

Birthday Approaching

On Friday, I will be celebrating my 28th birthday, which means several things, mainly that I am getting really close to being 30, my high school reunion is this summer, and the past seems further away than it did even a year ago. In an email to a friend this morning, I mentioned that it felt like I have lived two, maybe even three, lifetimes in the past ten years. So, here are some of my highlights of my life in the past ten years:

• Graduated high school.
• Attended the University of Washington for 2 and a half years.
• Dropped out of college to be in a rock band playing bass.
• Had the opportunity to go to Israel and Jordan for two weeks, seeing everything from Jerusalem, Petra, the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, and Tel-Aviv.
• Became a Christian after 14 years of walking away from God.
• Went to art school and eventually graduated with a bachelor's degree in Media Arts and Animation.
• Interned in a video department being able to work alongside a good friend.
• Ran a video/design department for a couple of years before burning out.
• Got to hear and meet some amazing songwriters, speakers, pastors and artists in my time running the video/design department.
• Traveled to Mexico and videotaped a mission trip for one week.
  
• Got married in 2004.
  
• Started my own design/photography/video business.

Well, it may not seem like much when reading that list, but it has been a life-changing journey for me, and it continues going in a direction that I never imagined.

As I write this, I am remembering what I wrote in the senior edition of the school paper ten years ago about what I would be doing today: "I will be making $80,000 a year working at Microsoft and playing racquetball with Bill Gates." While I didn't even come close to either of those things, I am truly grateful that my life is far richer and deeper than I ever imagined it would be.

Have a Merry Christmas!

A Hodge Podge of Information

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since my last post, and a lot of strange and wonderful things have occurred. But the first thing on my mind is the latest "American Photo" magazine, which showed up a couple days ago in the mail. It has to be the best photography magazine, just for the sheer quality of the photographers that are showcased. This month's issue is on the Images of the Year, and there are some amazing images. My favorite image is from the Wonderbra advertisement, shot by Vincent Dixon. You never see the Wonderbra, but you see everyone's reaction in the restaurant, stunning, well lit, and very funny.

I recently bought Quickbooks Pro for my business, Chris Martin Studios Inc., and now get to go through the laborious task of setting it up! I'm sure there is someone that I could pay to do that, but after 9 months of receipts and invoices, it's probably better if I do it. I'm excited though, there are some neat features that I will definitely use, especially the time sheets. No more Excel, and no more math calculations by hand! Oh, how exciting life can truly be!

The other night, my friend Rod showed me "G3- Live in Denver," starring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Yngwie Malmsteen. Very good performances on all three parts, and what cracked me up the most was how Malmsteen would shred a little, throw the guitar around his neck, and then continue shredding. Seamlessly! Amazing, well worth the cost of buying the DVD.

Today, I received "The DVX Book," Magic Bullet Editors, and InstantHD in the mail, as part of the rebate for my Panasonic DVX100B. So far, I have only read part of "The DVX Book," but already it has helped me in how I use the DVX. While the camera is not an HD camera, it's a great camera!

Wow, should I keep going? I think I shall.

I am planning on 7 one-minute short films using the DVX and the lav mics that I bought for it. I'm not really going to do anything traditional in the sense, I just want to have fun, so stay tuned to ChrisMartin.com, because I will post the videos there.

Here, here to Lloyd's Grill in Battle Ground, WA. A very great place to eat lunch!

Well, that's about it for now. I hope you enjoy the latest from my mind.