So very tired. For as much as I Love California, PA, I don’t sleep here. Everyone’s up insanely late – even by my standards – with trucks and cars racing outside, careening down the tiny, tiny streets till 3am or so… I didn’t get to bed till 5.30 in the morning myself, and then at 6am they started loading stuff into the Dollar General downstairs. It wasn’t enough that the HUGE Dollar General 18-wheeler had been parked outside all night, bleeding off ts air brakes whenever the humans nestled inside got a wink of unconsciousness, but they listen to the music LOUD when they’re loading an unloading. Oh, and then the alarm goes off at 10am to go move the car.
Still Love it. Just not as awake as I’d like to be for it.
After getting into town at around 1am on Tuesday, we had a sound check at the Student Center at 10.30 in the morning, and played through the height of lunch time to lots of students hurrying hither, tither and occassionally yon. We dropped a lot of post cards on people who often stood staring and chewing as I avoided thinking of cows. Cows don’t tap their feet. They sometimes look dumbfounded at what one is doing to one’s guitar (at least, I assume this is the case, to be honest I don’t REALLY know as I’ve only ever played to horses and cats) but there’s a little more meaning to a human’s gaze.
In any case, it was a fun time, reconnecting with all of our California friends. They’ve all scattered and paired off in unexpected directions. Some of them I’m happy for, some of them I’m ecstatic for.
Last night we played the Jozart open mic watching amazing hands and throats and listening to good noise. I feel so at home with the people here, it’s wonderful, but I find myself talking too much sometimes.
Today I even snagged one of the guys here, Duane, to give me my second-ever “real” guitar lesson. The first one, in college somewhere, got me nowhere but frustrated as the guy sat there telling me everything that I was doing wrong. Duane, on the other hand, was charismatic and kind and encouraging. There are a couple of habits I’d like to unlearn, and a whole lot of theory that I’d like to learn. We sat and toyed with chord positions, how to pick, some scales and the thinking behind them… I even watched him do some restringing just to see yet ANOTHER method. Very productive if a bit of a hodge-podge of information. It’s going to take weeks for all of that to settle in my head, which I suppose, since I’m not going to be back until December, is exactly the kind of lesson I need.
We’ll be off to Cory’s in a bit to have dinner, and then back to the Underground. With any luck at all, there will be a shower in there somewhere. It’s really, really needed. I mean really. Oh God yes.
Kimmy in California, being cute like only Kimmy can.
The wind is picking up outside and cold, cold drafts are slipping in from outside as my hands attempt to thaw. I’ve been playing a LOT which is really nice, and I can hear new melodies and new precipices squeezing from between the strings. I’ve also been painting a lot (which is cool, generally I can’t do both in the same day) and just generally, I seem to be getting a lot done. It’s nice to be busy, but it means I feel like there are things slipping through the cracks.
