beautiful, funny, sad & true

I’ll be spending the next couple of days in EmeraldCity to play with my friend’s band again. I’ll be staying with LittleBrother and his family. They were just here the other day, but it’s never enough. My mom will be up there this time, too. It promises to be a fun weekend.

Looks like Zooey will be staying with me for a few more days. Sure is fun having her here, except for the fact that she spends way too much time trying to get into my bedroom, which is the one place that I absolutely don’t want her to be. Since the door doesn’t latch, I’ve had to ingeniously use a bright red water pitcher that fits right in around the handle and wedges down into the jamb. It looks hilarious, but hey, it works.

Isn’t this an exciting entry? I’m reminded of an inside joke I used to have with one of my friends: “That’s not interesting, tell me less!”

I’ve been so busy with gigs and plays and stuff–plus getting the blog moved and redesigned and everything–that I haven’t had as much time to just think and write. This next week is much more open than the last one was, so I should be around a bit more.

[edit, later that night: What I should have done is write now, after getting home from the gig, because tonight was a crazy night. Well, now you know that you have at least one great story to look forward to when I get back from Seattle.]

Things I’m excited about:

1. This blog being redesigned and having its own domain name.
2. Playing the toy piano at the play reading tomorrow night.
3. Playing a huge gig with Susie at the Doug Fir on Friday night.
4. Playing with and hanging out with Brandon and the band again in Seattle on Saturday night.
5. Hanging out with my brother and his family on Saturday day and Sunday day.

Things I’m not excited about:

1. The puddle of cat pee on the floor of the bathroom when I came home just now.

In no particular order:

my favorite

I’m heading up to Seattle tonight, to spend the weekend with my brother and his family. I’m also going to bring some guitars, so I can play with my friend’s band. It’ll be the first time I’ve seen him in about twelve or thirteen years.

I have to work on Monday (LAME!), so I’m driving back from Seattle on Sunday, then if I feel up to it, I’m going to drive back up there after work. I also have to work on Wednesday, so I’ll be driving back on Christmas Day.

One more reason I’m sick of having a day job.

There are about a thousand more; I won’t bore you with all of them, don’t worry, but this whole week has been ridiculously exhausting and stressful. It didn’t used to be this way. I never used to dread going to work, but now I find myself doing that almost every day. I’m always cranky by about 9:30 or 10:00 in the morning, sometimes even earlier than that.

But that’s neither here nor there.

The good news is that I’m gonna have a fun weekend with my brother’s family, and I also get to reconnect and play music with an old friend. I also get to play four hours worth of songs that I’ve never played before. It’s gonna be hilarious and fun.

Time to pack up the car and get outta here.

Today is the one-year anniversary of BFS&T. Actually, to be more accurate, it’s the one-year anniversary of this incarnation of it, because I’ve had a MySpace blog of the same name for two and a half years longer than that. I still use it for a few things, but this one has definitely taken over and become the main one.

Lots has happened in the last year. I learned how to take much better pictures, for one thing. This year’s ‘best pictures of the year’ entry will be quite a step up from last year’s.

This year’s musical accomplishments have been a step up, too. The Young Immortals–whose CD I produced and played on–have had a song picked up by WorldFamousCoffeeCompany, and radio play all over the country. There are even some radio stations in France and Ireland who love and play TYI. There are teenage girls who make videos of themselves singing TYI songs and posting them on WebSiteThat’sLikeTV. This past spring, summer and fall, I made enough money at music-related endeavors that I could have quite easily lived without my day job. Too bad about the whole winter season, though. There’s always a huge drop-off then, and I’m still trying to figure out how to make things happen in that time.

Cello-ness has been steadily improving as well. This year has seen the cello become one of the primary instruments I’ve been called to play, both live and on various recordings. That has caused a certain amount of anxiety for me, since some of my friends are among the best cellists in this town, but I’m also not stupid enough to turn down great opportunities that come my way, either. If it’s something I can play, I play it, and I appreciate every gradual step up.

Romantic relationships continue to be a bit troublesome for me. The one this past year was one of the ones that really changed both of our lives, though, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much. As one of my friends likes to say, “You’re just making room for the one that’s the right one.”

Overall, I’d say that things are going really well. Goals? Yes, I have a few. Keep improving myself as a person and as a musician, take more ‘chances’ in my life, TRAVEL MORE, reach out more and be a better friend, take my music career to the next level (and figure out what I want that next level to be), and also to take better care of myself.

Oh yes. . .and of course, to keep blogging steadily. I expect you to help keep me accountable in these endeavors.

Here’s to the next year!