What Will Hindsight Bring Us Next?

      Friday! I’m glad I was able to find some time to squeeze this in. It’s so close to the end of the year, I’d hate to miss one now. I figured I’d have time today, but, you never know, things come up all the time. Also, part of an ulterior motive, I went to Disneyland yesterday, and wanted to be able to write about it. Sometimes when I think: “Oh, I’ll just write about that next week,” I notice I don’t have the same engagement as I did the week prior. Sometimes I think it gives me time for some perspective. Hindsight Period, we call it. Looking back can often cause you to see, or feel, things about an event that you may not have picked up on initially. That’s why they say: “Hindsight is 20/20,” because you can always see clearer once the event has passed. It’s an idea we take very seriously in our household, so I’m sure it’ll be coming up again. But, I didn’t want to wait a week, trying to remember anything I may have wanted to tell you. As it turns out, there’s not that much to tell you about anyway, so I’m not sure it would have mattered. If I reflect on anything over the next week, I’ll be sure to let you know. I’ll get to Disneyland in a little bit, but there are a couple of nuggets I feel I need to get to first. I know I often struggle with chronicling the mundane events of my life, and whether or not this should be used as a way of sharing little spots of wisdom I’ve gained, as opposed to my calendar in written form. But, it’s been becoming clear to me that the head space I’m in when these events happen, color what thoughts I have. What’s going on in my life has direct impact on what I’m thinking of at the time. So, in those instances, knowing what I’m going through at the time, is essential if I, or you, should wish to have more understanding.

     I’m not sure if I told you, but both my bands, the Eruption, and the Calvins, were scheduled to play a mutual friend’s birthday party last Saturday. He was turning 50, he wanted it to be a big deal, which I get. Last Thursday night was supposed to be Eruption practice. The guitar player and I got to practice a little early. We were standing around, he was having a smoke, and we were talking about shitty drivers. He recently started a new job, down in Chula Vista. It’s about a 20–30-minute drive from where he lives, even without much traffic. We were talking about traffic patterns in different areas, and how frustrating it can be, when all of a sudden, my phone rang. It was our drummer, he was on the side of the road, and had just been involved in an accident. My mind was blown! He was okay, but he wasn’t going to make it to practice, and didn’t think he was going to be able to play the birthday party. His car was crumpled, and at that point, he was not sure about the condition of his drums, which were in the car. Over the course of the next few days, we learned his car was totaled, his drums were okay, but he has whiplash, and is out for a while. Bummer. We did not play the party, but the Calvins did. It was fun. Not really the crowd we were expecting, but it was a cool setting, and a great vibe. Sometimes house parties with punk bands attract cops, but that was not the case. We played in the afternoon, so it was a little hot, but we did good. In the videos, we sounded great, it just looked like we were playing to no one. We were out of there by 7. Our drummer was concerned that day because his dog was at the hospital, and they weren’t sure if it was going to make it. He was optimistic, but we could tell his mind was other places.

     The next day my wife and I had a wedding to go to. We don’t really know the person that well, but she seems to really like my wife, so we went. I think we only knew 5 other people there. The location was beautiful, the food was good, there was an open bar, and we had a good time. Nothing religious, it was just a nice, short, sweet ceremony, and then a party. There were a lot of douchey people there, I don’t think we’ll be making it far into that friend group. Tuesday band practice got cancelled. Apparently the dog had to go back to the hospital. The family was very concerned at this point. I’m not even really sure what was wrong with the dog, some kind of stomach problem. I just know he did express some concern about spending a lot of money if the dog was going to pass anyway. Maybe I should have written this all out before Disneyland! We drove up to Anaheim Wednesday night. We wanted to be able to get to the park first thing. Our daughter really wanted to go. She had won some tickets at work, and for whatever reason, was not able to find anyone to go with her. She asked us. I thought it was sweet, but every time I go to Disneyland, I feel like I’ve been there for the last time. It is not my jam anymore. But it meant a lot to her. She even paid! For my ticket, and the hotel room. I was stunned, and there was no way I could say “no.” I was glad to spend time with her. The two of them were as giddy as school children. The 3 of us hadn’t hung out in a while. She seemed to really need, and appreciate, it. I was overwhelmed by the feeling of: “This place is not really for adults.” It was our first time seeing The Galaxies Edge, the Star Wars themed land. That was cool, I felt like a little kid for a bit, they did a good job. But over-all, I think I’ve been to Disneyland for the last time. I don’t fit in the rides, I don’t like lines, heat, or children, and I’d rather do other things. While at the park yesterday, I received word that our drummer’s dog had gone on to her great reward. You’ll be missed Roxy. Wow, what a week! Now I need to recover.