Busy, schmizzy.

Funny how I need to spell "schmizzy" as such, instead of "schmusy". Ahh, the idiosyncrasies of the English language.

Band practice last night was AMAZING! The addition of Misti totally pulled the whole thing together, and Charlie's drumming sounded great too. The songs we played sounded like REAL songs, and we even worked up an original tune...if only I could come up with non country-oriented lyrics at the drop of a hat.

Still no word from Dante. Hopefully he's gotten here okay and hasn't run into too many difficulties on the drive from California.

I pick up my CD at Kinko's later, along with a couple of prints of my promo photographs, and thus I'll be able to pack them up with my spiffed-up bio and get it to Rick B. sometime tomorrow. Wahoo!

Rachel got offered a job with American Eagle. Good for her! I hope she weathers the changes and transitions well while moving into this new chapter of her life. It's amazing to feel real personal power, and I don't think she's ever felt it keenly, like this will surely do for her.

I think we underestimate the feeling of personal power. I've been trying to make sure that I keep remembering how it feels by constantly trying new activities, however insignificant they may appear to be. I may feel like the "stupid kid" as I learn these new skills and meet all these new people, but eventually I'll master whatever I need to and be that much better for it.

The garage band is part of my trying new things, for sure. Tamborine, maracas, shakers, and a front-and-center stage attitude is something I'm not quite comfortable with, but it's sort of a 'duck to water' thing when you've got great people you're working with. And we've been practicing in a real garage, which is a blast (albeit warm at this time of year).

Also, my new cheap gym and the classes that go with it are challenging as well. I've been working my ASS off trying to feel physically better and stronger. Slowly things are improving to that end.

Designing and making a CD cover on my own and getting my demo CD professionally printed (even if it was only one CD) is helping me feel like I LOOK more musically impressive to people who want to see that, like the promoters of that French country music festival. I've always approached my music with such an amateurish attitude that it's kind of nice to try on a coat of a different (bright, sumptuous) color for a change.

This week, if I meet up with Dante, I'll be showing him around town and getting him acclimated...although he's resourceful and pragmatic from what I could tell. Nevertheless it helps to have a go-to person when you're in a new city.

My next new activity is going to be volunteering at somewhere for a day. I don't want a huge commitment to that sort of thing due to time constraints, but I want to do something, somewhere...and soon.