Dear Friends,
Something is going on with the old Ergonomic Mischief HQ. I had scheduled Monday and Tuesday’s blogs to go out at 6 AM, per usual, but they did not go out. I thought I had mistakenly set Monday and Tuesday’s blogs to go out on the same day, but I had not. I don’t know what the heck is going on and I apologize to those of you who are waiting with bated breath at the usual time for the latest installment. Hopefully this one makes it out today.
Yesterday, the New Times ran my first column on being in a band which grew out of my efforts here. It’s pretty cool to be able to work on revising something from the blog. I know I mentioned early on (and occasionally throughout this process) that I will be using some or a lot of this material for future things and here I am. Excited is a word I could use to describe how I am feeling, but that’s only part of it.
I was messaging back and forth with my friend, Brian, yesterday who writes an amazing column and he shared with me that a column can be “a stressful nightmare.” I feel like I am in pretty good shape since I’ve managed to write this blog all this time. We shall see.
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I’m getting ready to release some more of The Trees. It’s very strange to see where this story has gone from what I originally envisioned in my head and that’s a very interesting thing. It’s also kind of fun that I’m the only one who will ever know how that arc has taken place. I don’t think I could describe it and I doubt anyone would care, but it is still cool.
Having been home from Maine now for almost as long as I was there, it is also interesting to me to realize how my brain functions there as opposed to here in Phoenix. I feel like there is a certain jolt to the creative side of my brain there. I was also off work for five weeks up there, so it was easy to sit and write more. That could be it, but I used my daily walks in the woods to work through story points.
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The rats are so interesting. They get active in the mornings when they think it is time for a carrot or tomato. This has been your weekly rat update.
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If we know what is good for us, we better be starting some Bourbon Witch practices soon. This is a thing I do with some friends to celebrate different occasions in Fun Bobby’s life. He is the Bourbon Witch, and we are merely his back up band. We are playing our first show in about five years or so in mid-November and we have to learn a bunch of cover songs as we don’t do any original material.
In the past, we have done a bunch of Pinky songs when we have played, but those songs are retired now. We will probably play a few Blanche Davidian songs this time around, though, and that will be fun. Those are very fun songs to play. We have a long list of suggested covers to weed through, too, and that will not be fun. Everyone has songs they want to do. Personally, I don’t really care. I’m down to do whatever the birthday boy, Fun Bob, wants to do.
I wish I was more excited about the idea of playing a show but I’m just not. I think I have that out of my system, presently, and who knows if it will come back. I certainly don’t. I kind of wish I would have kept track of all the shows I have played over the years, but it never really occurred to me to keep a running list. It’s a lot and that’s okay. I’ve forgotten a lot of them.
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We are getting close enough to the big wedding that I am feeling a little nervous. I know so little about so much of Ryan’s life that it will feel strange to take it all in, I think. I am very happy for him, though, and it is a good thing to be in the place he is in. I am proud of the man he has become, and he has a bright future ahead of him. I’d also be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about the prospect of being a grandfather again.
Some of the nervousness comes from being around some of the people who will be there including members of my own family. There are a lot of hurt feelings on my end that I bury pretty deep about how a lot of things shook out after Ryan’s mom and I got divorced. I can only control what I can control and 99% of the time I don’t have to be a part of it or see it or what not, but on the big day, I will have to smile and act like nothing bothers me.
Out of sight, out of mind is a powerful thing.
Part of me feels like even writing about it now gives it way more power than I need to give it. This is why I am being vague, and I apologize for that. Family dynamics are always interesting especially on my mother’s side of the coin. Luckily, there will be a good number of friendly, predictable faces to talk to and help us celebrate Ryan’s and Bree’s big day. It will be nice to officially welcome her to the family.
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It was great to see Mark and Mo on Sunday and Monday. Two of my oldest and dearest friends. Mark will be joining me in Maine in a few weeks and I can’t wait for us to have almost a week to just hang out together. I think I have mentioned this before, but it has been a long time since we’ve gotten to spend that sort of time enjoying our friendship. Looking forward to it, big time, and excited as all get out to show him Maine.
See you tomorrow.
Completely unrelated but cool. This is Dizzy Gillespie's trumpet. It is in the Museum of American History. I stole this photo, but I've been playing Dizzy for my students all week.
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