Thursday, July 19, 2012
Kids
Some nights, like tonight, I want to sit outside Eden and Judah's room and tape their little voices. I can't really understand what they're saying or singing but I want to bottle up their toddler timbre for posterity.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number, pt. 2
A little over a year ago, I set some goals for myself, things to reach before my thirtieth birthday. You can read all about it here: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3098027218151989275#editor/target=post;postID=2349222430713671562
They basically boiled down to things related to the number 30.
1. Lose thirty pounds by thirty.
I managed 20, which I still feel pretty proud about and my doctor is happy about. I'd love to cut another twenty this year (which is apparently a more manageable deal than 30...)
2. Thirty percent of my thesis published.
I officially blew this one out of the water when I signed a fancy contract with Grey Sparrow Press to publish all of them. This year I'd like to sell 30 copies. Just kidding. I'd like to sell at least 300. Are you in?
3. 30k.
I wanted to make 30k this year. I may have, but I can't be sure until tax season. This is still a goal of mine; not necessarily the 30k, so much as a real, full-time job that I like. Right now I'm teaching sporadic classes. And last night I put in my first bid for a painting job. Weird.
4. Complete a record.
Nope. But I'm more than 30% there. And I have drums tracked for a second record with my new fabulous band, which I never set a goal to have...
5. Novel.
Boom. I finished my first draft last week. I'm sure it's lousy and needs a ton of editing and it's only 40,000 words, but it's done. I'm pretty impressed with myself.
What I did for my big 3-0 was schedule a super-duper show for myself. It was Saturday night at the 400 Bar. I thought it would be a fantastic birthday bash and I would ask a few local bands that I love and they would say "Yes!" and it would be easy and awesome. The easy part didn't work out (anyone who's ever booked a show won't be surprised), but I think the awesome part did. In the last year, I can legitimately say I've quit playing for audience adoration; I play with three guys that are excellent friends of mine and they help me make the songs sound like they do in my head and I love that more than I've ever loved making music. And if someone else enjoys it, then great, but it's peripheral to me.
And I've been thinking about the best thing about turning thirty: I think I'm a much better human than I was at twenty. Not that I've arrived or that I've kicked all my bad habits or that I don't have growing to do, but on the whole, I'd much rather hang out with me now then a twenty-year-old incarnation of myself. So at least something is going right. And I would give most of the credit to Sarah and the babies...
They basically boiled down to things related to the number 30.
1. Lose thirty pounds by thirty.
I managed 20, which I still feel pretty proud about and my doctor is happy about. I'd love to cut another twenty this year (which is apparently a more manageable deal than 30...)
2. Thirty percent of my thesis published.
I officially blew this one out of the water when I signed a fancy contract with Grey Sparrow Press to publish all of them. This year I'd like to sell 30 copies. Just kidding. I'd like to sell at least 300. Are you in?
3. 30k.
I wanted to make 30k this year. I may have, but I can't be sure until tax season. This is still a goal of mine; not necessarily the 30k, so much as a real, full-time job that I like. Right now I'm teaching sporadic classes. And last night I put in my first bid for a painting job. Weird.
4. Complete a record.
Nope. But I'm more than 30% there. And I have drums tracked for a second record with my new fabulous band, which I never set a goal to have...
5. Novel.
Boom. I finished my first draft last week. I'm sure it's lousy and needs a ton of editing and it's only 40,000 words, but it's done. I'm pretty impressed with myself.
What I did for my big 3-0 was schedule a super-duper show for myself. It was Saturday night at the 400 Bar. I thought it would be a fantastic birthday bash and I would ask a few local bands that I love and they would say "Yes!" and it would be easy and awesome. The easy part didn't work out (anyone who's ever booked a show won't be surprised), but I think the awesome part did. In the last year, I can legitimately say I've quit playing for audience adoration; I play with three guys that are excellent friends of mine and they help me make the songs sound like they do in my head and I love that more than I've ever loved making music. And if someone else enjoys it, then great, but it's peripheral to me.
And I've been thinking about the best thing about turning thirty: I think I'm a much better human than I was at twenty. Not that I've arrived or that I've kicked all my bad habits or that I don't have growing to do, but on the whole, I'd much rather hang out with me now then a twenty-year-old incarnation of myself. So at least something is going right. And I would give most of the credit to Sarah and the babies...
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