I Love this time of year. The Christmas lights are usually still up, but a lot of the hype is done. I can still play the music but it won’t catch up with me out in the world. People are generally still on vacation so the roads are relaxed – there’s just a feeling of the whole world stepping back and catching its breath.
It’s cold. Colder than it’s been. In our new chaotic climate, it’s been relatively warm – almost hit 80 degrees at Dulles on Christmas Day – and that was more unnerving than I thought it would be – but today it’s 37 and it feels colder. We’re finally kicking the heat on at night as the temperature reaches for freezing, but it’s sunshiny and clear so you have that BEAUTIFUL contrast of a greenhoused car, warm and toasty, after the brisk morning air. I Love that too.
We’re off to House of Musical Traditions for the day, with an HMT staff party afterwards. It’s been weeks since I’ve been in the store, though somehow it feels like I’m more familiar with the stock NOW than I ever was when I was a regular employee – so it feels a little disingenuous to go to the staff party. I’ll be the outsider… strangely like I was the FIRST time I went to an HMT staff party…
It was a LONG time ago, and I think I didn’t know many people. It may have been BEFORE I was a regular staff member. Kristen doesn’t remember either… Hell, I may have gone with Rowan and not her? In any case, strange to think how much the store has changed shape. The “family” has been through two blatant generations of change and though there are a couple of holdovers, it’s strange to think that from that party to this, two of the attendees are dead and one’s not speaking to the rest. Young Paul, Dave, Kristen and I and Stream – I think we’re the only “survivors”.
Makes me feel old indeed.
Last night I sent out my regular “upComing and inComing” email to my band. Sent out a bunch of other scheduling emails. The day before I fired off the first ilyAIMY upDates of the year and for all that our calendar looks pretty blank at the moment, it’s good to
realize that I’m actually going to be pretty damned busy. I’m trying to go out of my way to schedule some things that are going to pull me out of my box a bit. Another Nelly’s Echo / Mosno Al-Moseeki / rob show. A house concert with Acacia Sears. Some ilyAIMY shows are slowly trickling into place. The first tour of the year is slowly being constructed.
That sort of makes me feel young again.
