ManicRobThrill

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Weekend rewind (where do we go from here?)

Been feeling ill off-and-on this week, so I'll keep this brief. Nothing doing in making music; I'm just not focused on it at the moment. Not the end of the world, nor is it a cause for frustration. Sometimes limbo can be a calming feeling, leading to readjustment.

Watched a minute's worth of the State of The Union address. I feel, at this point, we've been had again. Should I be shocked? No. But I do feel contempt for this administration for their ham-handed way of handling everything. I don't want to hear the excuse of them having to clean up Bush's mess. They knew the minute the election was over that they had to be ready and subsequently, they've done nothing. Except pushing an agenda (that is dangerous and murky) as a means of subterfuge because they don't have a plan for the economy or getting the troops out of Iraq. I will say no more than this as I don't wish to offend anyone, but at the same time, I'm not going to quietly be aggravated by sheep-like support for something that's morally outrageous. We went from one horrific extreme to one of complete ineptitude.

January is usually an ecch-kind of month. And so it goes.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

45

I have to admit, this is a pretty interesting number to reach in age. For a start, it's the r.p.m. of the now-defunct "single", the musical medium I grew up with. It's the title of and subject matter for an Elvis Costello song. And it was the jersey number of my boyhood hero and favorite baseball player. So now I'm at this juncture.

I can somewhat remember writing on this blog when I turned 40. I don't feel the same as I did--not a lot, anyway. And yet, here I am, ruminating on my birthday that it feels like any other day. Nothing special, save for the very kind thoughts, words and wishes from my family and friends who have taken the time. And honestly, I think it's the only thing that matters at this point.

So with that quick observation, I can claim 45 as my own number for at least the next 364 days.

Friday, January 01, 2010

Another brand new start

Happy New Year to all of you; may it be filled with peace and joy.

At least 2010 begins on positive notes for me; having prepped last night for an evening's cooking and watching movies with Liz, I can say we rang in the start of this year on a low-key and laugh-filled note. Phone calls from family and old friends was a nice touch. A rare moment of consuming an entire bottle of wine didn't cause me any drunkenness or discomfort and dinner was a rousing and delicious success (not that my culinary skills could ever be called into question). A quick ride to get fresh air, Starbucks and a nice, light lunch and we're in to relax and spend this last day together in the quiet and calm of home. She has to be at work tomorrow; I have groceries to buy and into the city to see an old friend, then rest up Sunday as my two-week vacation from my day job officially ends.

If my hand doesn't give me any problems, I would like to continue the recording on Sunday just to have some more structure for the two songs begun in this time off. An early visit to the gym will certainly clear my head to focus on the afternoon and I don't think a night of watching football will kill me.

However far I get with recording this album early on, I don't know. But it feels very good and promising that I do have that drive again to complete this--for no other reason but for my own good. There are the possibilities of playing with other musicians and I am very warm to this idea. There are a few shows that already have piqued my interest and new avenues to explore creatively.

So I wave off 2009 with a quick gesture; it wasn't a bad year--thankfully, not for me, at least--but it wasn't a year filled with wonderful memories. I look at it more as a transitional year. A friend of mine called 2009 a "year of survival". I can only hope that this new year will be a warmer, less uncertain year. As I'm sure everyone else does.