Andre

I don't think we're in Kansas Anymore...

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:58:43 -0400

I have been silent on Facebook and mostly to all of my family about my life since the wedding. It seems like we all came together for this amazing event, then i disappeared the very next day.

The fact is, so much has happened incredibly fast, We have our own home, we have traveled across america, and I’m a soon to be father of 2 twins!

Just kidding about the twins.

Since the wedding we jumped right into touring. Its been an amazing trip so far, and everyone I meet asks me what its like, and I honestly don’t know how to respond, good? bad? awesome? fun? Its all happening so fast, I’m living the moment, so its hard to give a proper explanation to my feelings about being on the road, but I usually say: “Its Great!”

As of where I’ve been… I can’t remember, all I know is that I think I’ve driven across america like this so far:

Most people would think touring around the US with a band would be like a mega vacation,

Because it is. Well not exactly. Touring has its pros and cons, its a “Lifestyle” just as much as it is living (what some would call) a “Normal” lifestyle. (job,school,house)

Its busy busy busy, so busy that when your not busy, all you can think to do is sit down and relax, maybe watch a movie, do something uplifting.

Touring is overwhelming most of the time, between the 10hr drives on 2hr’s of sleep, then carrying 1000lbs of instrument and sound equipment at 4AM knowing you gotta wake up shortly after to perform the concert that morning.

It takes a lot out of you after a wile, and its difficult to keep up on social life and other important things when all you want to do is wind down from the extreme traveling.

But like I said, touring has its pros, and there are some weeks where i don’t have to do a thing for 5days strait, and thats nice, because it gives me time to call my parents, text a friend, or work on my mobile house.

Yes, kerah and i have our own mobile house!

During the beginning of our trip, we had an amazing blessing, and someone was able to donate money AND A TRUCK for kerah and i to buy a trailer!

The truck is my favorite part, mainly because its strong enough to torpedo by cars “with” the trailer latched on! Im not use to driving a new vehicle that has no problems, so its definitely made touring less stressful.

As for the airstream… oy.

So we bought this thing of Craigs List you see… and somehow everything that could go wrong magically went wrong after we bought it.

Heres what happened:

It looked perfect when we took a tour, even the seller was there showing us all the bells and whistles. We bought it, because who else wouldn’t want an Airstream? The only thing wrong with the trailer was that the curtains and fabric on the couch made us sneezy. so we decided to throw out the curtains….

Throwing out the curtains, lead to throwing out the cushions…witch lead to the discovery of mice poops…witch lead to the discovery of rotting wood…witch lead to me having to demolish the entire interior… witch lead to us owning a useless hollow twinki on wheels.

The Airstream was not fit to live in, and since then, we have been splitting our backs to get this thing livable, wile still touring across america. Its been an adventure, Kerah and i have survived extreme conditions in this thing, Freezing, Boiling, Water, you name it.

Its been 4months, and we have dramatically improved the airstream, but its been a problem since, still is, and its made touring a little more difficult than it needs to be.

Above is where i sleep :P

Those are just a few pics of the project.

By the way, out of all the father-inlaws on this planet, i sure am glad that god aligned Mark Hanes to be mine.

I gotta hand to mark, for someone who’s bumped his noggin on absolutely everything around him, he sure is SMART. I have witnessed some one of a kind situations with this guy, i think he’s the only person that can manage to drive across a state with a broken RV engine held together with duck tape and super glue.

Not to mention overall he’s just an awesome hilarious guy, and he loves to give out 20$ bills! I think mark has given me more 20$bills than I’ve ever made in my life.

here is mark helping us work on the trailer

here is me wishing i could be like mark with his Japanese facial hair.

Mark has helped me with every single problem that trailer has caused, and if it wasn’t for him i would probably be up in a rage hiking back to RI by now.

theres probably like 100 things I’m forgetting to mention, but the last few days have been very productive.

Kerah’s surprise birthday present for me was a ticket to see Jake Shimabukuro in concert!!

Ive also been able to work a lot on my website recently before i leave for japan.

Anyways, i promised i would update my family on everything thats been going on, and this is pretty much the best summery i can make for this overdue update. I will be flying to Japan the day after my birthday, and then to korea shortly after. I’m hoping to afford a new lens for my camera when i get there, and i hope ill be able to have access to wifi so i can upload pics and updates!

I miss my family, and Ive taken them for granted. I wish i could go back and change every time i decided not to go to a cook out or birthday party.

Let this be an example to all my little cousins lol, when the day comes and you don’t have a choice to see your family when you want, your gonna wish you did every chance you had.

I cannot wait to see very one again, and ill try to do a better job at updating everyone in the future! Thanks to everyone for all the help sending me extra funds and prayers, i couldn’t have lived through this without everyones help and support.

current location: Kansas

Next stop: Mar.15.-Tokyo Japan -Korea

Without words.

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 05:53:15 -0400

Andre, I really have no words right now as I pray for these people. Shelly Sinclair of Akiak, Alaska.

Far from Home

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:20:00 -0400

During our 5 day journey to Haiti, we came across many odd ways of life within the broken city.

This image was taken of my father as we sat in a “Tap Tap”, a dilapidated Pickup Truck with a hood over the back. A man will slam the window with a stick or water bottle to inform the driver to stop for a waiting pedestrian (hence “Tap Tap”). If the Tap Tap is to full, they will have you sit on someone’s lap, the roof, or whatever it takes to make you fit so they can get your money.

We are not your ordinary Missionary team; we have no vehicle, no nice hotel to go back to, and no luxuries (food and emergency supply) that most high end missionary trips provide.

we spent 5 days living in the same conditions as these Haitians do every day, and the orphanage we went to support, ended up caring and supporting us so “we” could survive.

Being thrown into this situation speaks for it self, as an American, I had no rights, I could not communicate with anyone, and I would not have been able to survive if it wasn’t for the 116 orphan children that treated us like royalty.

I was far from home.

Providing support for the orphanage, wile surviving ourselves, was a humbling experience.

The Children are pure, smart, and incredibly well coordinated in everything they do.

Despite The Hardships I experienced myself, and the joy of blessing these children,

I realized they to have no home, such as I felt in this country.

Going through this experience taught me the strength of unity, and how capable our human bodies are no matter the circumstances.

I took more from observing these children then i could ever bring back to aid them! I’m thankful for this.

The children manage to stay strong, happy, and healthy on this island.

i do not know how, but they do.

These kids love you to death. No matter who you are, they just love you so much, and this love helped our puny American ridden body’s survive for 5 stupid days.

But even though i felt out of my comfort zone, all the way in a 3rd world country, i would look into their eyes, and they would look back and smile.

That turned out to be my safe haven and my home.

Remember her smile.

There is courage, life, and hope for what good is left on this island. Haiti is the reason why Israel was able to reunite as a nation because of a last second change in their vote. This land is broken and crying out, but one day it will be a paradise.

are you vanessa's cousin?

Thu, 26 May 2011 21:45:08 -0400

Yes i am :) lol.

So noah had a little beta fish that someone gave to him (those...

Wed, 25 May 2011 23:53:34 -0400

Little Beta Fish my mom felt bad for LOL

New tank with all sorts of crazy stuff.

So noah had a little beta fish that someone gave to him (those little 5$ fish u can buy in a small plastic container) and he put it in some boring plastic bowl for a month.

My mom felt bad for its poor little environment so she wanted to buy a better tank for it. but plans changed when we got to the pet store. we spent over 70$ on fish tank stuff and now we have a family aquarium. all thanks to the tiny beta fish.

Now the little red fish has a better home and some new friends that he does not like.

so my ps3 got the Yold last week, (Yellow Light of Death) witch...

Sun, 15 May 2011 00:34:53 -0400

taking apart ps3.

2 silver plates melted back on

Ps3 Turns on after fix

so my ps3 got the Yold last week, (Yellow Light of Death) witch means your ps3 is, Dead.

so rather than paying 140$ to have it repaired i decided to take it apart myself and look up a vid on youtube to fix it.

Long story short, i had to fry the motherboard with a heat gun and melt (re- flow) the components back onto the mother board, mainly the 2 silver squares that are in the middle.

i cant explain the feeling between plugging it back in and pressing the on button, i had no idea if it would really work, but it did, and i continued my adventure on Dragonage 2 and beat the game.

my ps3 should last now for another 4ish months b4 it burns out again, and ill have to repeat this process until i buy a new one :/

NOT REAL POOP so apparently Gabriel decided to prank me by...

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 02:08:43 -0400

*NOT REAL POOP* so apparently Gabriel decided to prank me by putting this chocolate dessert shaped into poo poo on my toilet seat. luckly for me i didnt arrive home until late, and he had allredy fallen asleep.

so i did the honor of returning his misplaced doo doo pie where he will happily wake up and find it unblemished and ready for breakfast before school.

i forgot to post the pics of the finished guitar. a after it was...

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:16:12 -0400

it says: See me in your eyes. :)

i forgot to post the pics of the finished guitar.

a after it was coated i installed what ever that white panel is called and put on some extra slinky erny balls!

the pickups and eletrical unit inside the actual guitar is noob, unless your looking for a typical “plain clangy garage” type of sound than it would be ok i guess, you could possibly get by playing along to a few strokes songs or A.h jr. but its just cool to look at and practice on thats about it.

…oh i guess my unique shape allows for maximized comfort and room when playing wicked awesome solos, and because of that i would consider buying pro electric parts for it someday.

fromasecondstory: Andre Oliveira is making a web show about the...

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 23:07:26 -0400

fromasecondstory:

Andre Oliveira is making a web show about the place I work at. Basically we all act like assholes/bitches (notice the bitch voice) to each other as a joke, but when it’s on film it looks amazing. This is the intro. It’s kinda filmed like the office. I can’t wait for more episodes.

In this episode, the studio had to take inventory of photo equipment after some things have gone missing, practices dance, and Mike fights with Christina.

The Studio project we are creating!

enjoy.

Hey... remember that one time you broke your mom's blender cause some girl tickled you and you jumped? Evil Laughter (The new blender looks like it's plastic, your mom's a smart lady. ;) )

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:23:19 -0400

-_- yeah, tbh im kinda thankful because now my mom has a better quality blender by kitchen aid.

hazor: Balcony visitors (by Rsms) this photo made me laugh....

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:44:37 -0400

hazor:

Balcony visitors (by Rsms)

this photo made me laugh. its rare for me to repost things from others so enjoy these cute birdies.

this was my attempt to make a smoothy again. i used: -Coco...

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 02:10:45 -0400

this was my attempt to make a smoothy again.

i used:

-Coco powder

-frozen bananas

-Frozen straw berries

-Milk (2% lowfat >:c )

-Honey

-and organic Peanut butter

you wouldn’t BELIEVE the epic battle i had with this blender.

first off, i thought it would be a smart idea to chop down some of the frozen bananas to make more room.

i turned to “chop” and *BAMCRAKXSNAPZZZZ!!!* exploded through the house at 1am. scared the crap outta me and i felt that tingly intense feeling of adrenalin because i thought i exploded the motor.

so i just moved everything into the family room and started cramming everything into one big pile, blending and pushing back and forth for 15 mins witch resulted in this yummy overflowing container of smoothy.

-__- i dont know where to put it all.

yesterday we went long boarding, i tried to get some cool shots...

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 02:02:25 -0400

yesterday we went long boarding, i tried to get some cool shots but they all failed due to lighting and lack of nighttime camera knowledge. -__-

however i was able to salvage this one image for zac. i gave it to him for his facebook.

his reaction was hilarious, he goes:

O_O… Dude… oh my, *Almost crys* OMFG dude oh my …! *0* omg All the chicks!!!… oooh… omg how did you make that so CLEEEEAN??

its was very funny. but he honestly cried for like 1 second.

She’s so cute on tumblr CX (talking to self)

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 03:12:07 -0400

She’s so cute on tumblr CX

(talking to self)

so u can see in better detail the guitar ive been working on. it...

Sat, 09 Apr 2011 00:12:00 -0400

so u can see in better detail the guitar ive been working on.

it was just coated today and im going to put it all back together wile i make guacamole.

(i got new strings to!)

May I kiss you?

A LOT?

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 23:56:04 -0400

…. o_o possibly…

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!! idk why I laughed like that... Oh yeah!! I'm asking a question! May I follow yew? =>

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 23:55:50 -0400

Of course! :D

Photo

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:08:06 -0400

Photo

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:06:05 -0400

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST HUMAN MEMORY?

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:12:25 -0400

pushing a toy car under a baby incubator at the hospital when my little cousin was born.

Andre

I don't think we're in Kansas Anymore...

Without words.

Far from Home

are you vanessa's cousin?

So noah had a little beta fish that someone gave to him (those...

so my ps3 got the Yold last week, (Yellow Light of Death) witch...

*NOT REAL POOP* so apparently Gabriel decided to prank me by...

i forgot to post the pics of the finished guitar. a after it was...

fromasecondstory: Andre Oliveira is making a web show about the...

Hey... remember that one time you broke your mom's blender cause some girl tickled you and you jumped? *Evil Laughter* (The new blender looks like it's plastic, your mom's a smart lady. ;) )

hazor: Balcony visitors (by Rsms) this photo made me laugh....

this was my attempt to make a smoothy again. i used: -Coco...

yesterday we went long boarding, i tried to get some cool shots...

She’s so cute on tumblr CX (talking to self)

so u can see in better detail the guitar ive been working on. it...

May I kiss you? A LOT?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!! idk why I laughed like that... Oh yeah!! I'm asking a question! May I follow yew? =>

Photo

Photo

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST HUMAN MEMORY?

NOT REAL POOP so apparently Gabriel decided to prank me by...

Hey... remember that one time you broke your mom's blender cause some girl tickled you and you jumped? Evil Laughter (The new blender looks like it's plastic, your mom's a smart lady. ;) )

May I kiss you?

A LOT?