beautiful, funny, sad & true

The weekend was great, but today I’m struggling a bit to keep my head above the metaphorical waterline. I got some troubling news from a friend yesterday, and some even more troubling second-hand news about another friend today. I’m a bit anxious about all of this, and I hope everything turns out okay with both of them.

Both of the gigs this past weekend were fantastic, and very different from each other. Breanna’s was one of the few where I finally felt really good about my cello playing, after doing it for three and a half years now. Crystin’s was really fun because it just felt like coming home again. Everyone who performed was a close friend who I haven’t seen in months, or sometimes even years. The gig was even at the MississippiPizzaPub, which is where Crystin and the band cut our proverbial teeth, and played more than anywhere else. I’ve probably played there with her at least fifty times. One of my friends from Seattle came to the show, and as a surprise she brought some of my other friends from here to the show as well.

In other news, I spent much of yesterday doing some more research for my 80’s Röck series, which is to say I dinked around online for most of the day while I did a few loads of laundry. I think Yacht Rock has got to be one of the funniest things I’ve seen in ages.

I’m looking for a typewriter to use. If you have one, and I can use it, can you please leave me a comment or something? I have an idea for a picture, and it involves the use of a typewriter. Please and thank you!

Had an interesting discussion the other night about introverts vs. extroverts. One guy was saying how he used to be such an extrovert that he couldn’t even relate to introverts. The other guy–who turned out to be a missionary–said that he would never dream of hiring an introvert for a missionary. . .um. . .position. (I swear I didn’t intend to write that!) After thinking about it for a while–I am an introvert, after all–it occurred to me that C.S. Lewis is possibly one of the best-known and best-loved missionaries (of a certain type) of all time, but he certainly wasn’t an extrovert. He just quietly wrote stories and novels that explained his viewpoint, which then sent beautiful ripples throughout the world. So I guess what I’m saying is that there’s room for all types.

Religion–even this tiny bit–is a very rare subject for me to write about here, to be sure. Enjoy it while you can.

This is a pretty intense weekend.

Last night was a Breanna/cello/violin gig, and it was incredibly fun. A couple of friends who either haven’t been to a show in ages, or who have never been to a show came out last night, including TossedIn. Nice night, all around. On the way out, I ran into one of my old friends from my previous apartment building, which was a great surprise.

Tonight is another Breanna gig–minus ViolinistKarlee–down in Salem, which means I’m going straight from work and driving in rush-hour traffic to try to make it down there by 7:00.

Tomorrow morning, I’m meeting my dad and stepmom for breakfast over here at Milo’s, one of my favorite spots. From there, I have a recording session with TheShinsEngineer at noon. From there, I have an gig playing accordion on what will very likely be the last Crystin Byrd gig for quite some time, because she’s very pregnant. From there, I’m meeting one of my oldest friends–should I say ‘longest friendships?’ It’s not as if she’s ninety years old!–who is down here from Seattle to visit her Stumptown friends. It promises to be quite a long and interesting day.

I don’t know what it is about leap year that I find so intriguing, but I do. Perhaps it’s the lunatic (as in ‘saturnine’, ‘martial’, and ‘lunatic’) connections that it has with the moon’s cycle; I don’t know. Maybe I don’t need a reason. Maybe I just find it intriguing. I’ll have to do a little bit of investigating. Is it unusual to have a lunar eclipse so near to the leap year?

Answers another day.

I came across this this morning, too, and thought it was beautiful. It was in one of those ‘bulletins’ that doesn’t tend to stick around for very long, so I wanted to capture it and share it here.

When we view our fellow human beings, we should look as we do at rose bushes. All have flowers and thorns. Some are strong rooted, some weak. Disease weakens some, while others are healthy. The environment from which each bush grows helps shape its life, but none is all flowers, and none is all thorns. Love helps us to understand the function of the thorns and to appreciate the blooms.

Please understand my thorns.

I know, I know. I could so easily tie it in with the 80’s Röck thing if I were to just say the simple phrase, “Every rose has its thorn (yeah, it does),” but that would trivialize and ruin such a beautiful sentiment, and I would never dream of doing that.

I have got to share today’s horoscope with you. As soon as I read it, I almost fell out of my chair, I was laughing so hard.

“Your job for the day might include dealing with groups of people who are not interested in hearing intimate personal details.”

I’m sure you can imagine why I, as an avid blogger, found that so amusing.

Tonight was a lunar eclipse during a full moon, which is an extremely rare occurrence. It was also Play Reading night, so those of us who were there early stood out in the middle of the road–only place that the moon was visible amidst all of the huge trees–and watched until we got too cold. Then we went back inside and realized that our view of the moon was almost completely unobstructed if we watched from the living room window. Thpffft.

The play that was read tonight was “Speed the Plow” by David Mamet. An excellent play, and we had a tremendous time reading it and playing toy piano along with it.

I wish I had a picture of the blood-red, eclipsed moon to accompany this entry. I’m sure I will never forget that sight as long as I live. I was lucky enough to witness a total solar eclipse when I was about eight years old. That was an incredible experience, and it’s a subject that is certainly worthy of its own entry, as soon as I get around to composing it.

In the meantime, suffice it to say that this lunar eclipse was beautiful and surreal, and I hope you get the chance to experience one too.

I have a cat staying with me for a few days. Her name is Zooey.

After all the stress and craziness in seemingly all aspects of life lately, not to mention the heavy subject matter (and arguments) here on El Blog-o lately, there’s nothing like a cute wittle kitteh to make you forget about all of it.

I came home from work yesterday to find her curled up asleep in the bathroom sink. Oh, how I wish I had a picture of that. She jumped down immediately and started rubbing on me. Cutest thing ever. After dinner, we both curled up on the sofa and watched Rock School. Hilarious documentary about a quasi-megalomaniac who teaches kids not just how to play instruments, but how to be rock stars. And no, he doesn’t hold back at all.

More good news; I’m going on tour with Breanna this summer, and we’re gallivanting all around the western U.S., the highlight of which will be a festival in Utah. ‘V. exciting,’ as Bridget Jones would say.