Feeling Aligned

      Finally, another Eruption practice tonight! I’m stoked! 2 practices in 6 months. I guess that’s something to be happy about. I often get caught up in thoughts about how often we’re not practicing, but today, I’m thinking about how cool it is that we get to. I can’t believe it’s April already. I must be having fun, because a third of the year is over, and I feel like it just begun. I’m also stoked because I get my car back tomorrow! I got the call a little bit ago. Yay! I find it interesting that they quoted me between $2,800 and $4,800, and the total is $3,800, right between the other 2. Coincidence? When they gave me the original quote, I was going to try to talk them down, see if I could get out of it cheaper than what they recommended. But after thinking about it, my wife and I were like: “We want it to work good for a while longer.” So, we went with the recommendations. I’m not getting a car for 4k! Plus, I like my car. Hopefully it’ll pass smog, and we’ll be well on our way towards a better driving future. The really cool thing is: We are going to have to put it on a credit card. We’ve only been using 1 card for a while now. Its limit is not that high, so it wouldn’t have worked. But we just recently got an offer for a credit card through our mortgage company. We got approved, and received the card about a month ago. It has a pretty high limit, and a pretty low interest rate. So, we are stoked! Then, about a week or so ago, we got a pretty big check. My father-in-law was part of a class action suit involved with the Paradise Fire a few years ago. The pay out is ready, and since he passed, his daughters are getting his share. So, we just got enough money to be able to pay for the car! Life is often amazing!

     On a similar note: I’d like to revisit something I was writing to you about on Pi Day. I had mentioned a “friend” who posted about Pi Day, and received some nerd backlash. I had some curiosity about why he was often posting math problems, along with their solutions. Only a few days after I wrote that, he posted some message about being in school, and finding interest in this particular class. I got the answers to my questions! It really felt like the Universe was listening. I know some people think their devices are listening to them, and they don’t get a warm fuzzy feeling. But, when it feels like the Universe is listening to you, it’s a very warm and fuzzy feeling! Even if it’s something as trivial as that, I still get just as much validation. Well maybe not “as much.” There are times when I feel listened to so much that tears pour out of my eyes. This did not provoke tears, but was validating none the less. I often wonder how many times people feel this way, or have these types of feelings, but don’t allow themselves to acknowledge them. I promise you, our world would be quite a different place if more people felt the Universe was listening to them. And I have concern that people are talking themselves out of the feeling that they get. I hope you know what I mean. And, to make it even more “whatever,” after I wrote the piece I’m talking about, his band got added to the festival we played last Saturday! What are the chances!? We got to the festival early, to see them, they were first. They were awesome! I had listened to a couple of their songs online, to see what to expect, and it wasn’t even close. They were much better live. We got to talk a little bit, and he stayed to watch us. It was such a weird little bit of synchronicity, I had this curiosity, and then answers.

     I have to keep my mind from going crazy. I start thinking: “Are we supposed to be friends?” “Why would this happen?” And, I have to remind myself that it’s probably more along the lines of just getting that feeling. It doesn’t have to “mean” anything. I had questions, answers were provided, isn’t life cool sometimes?! Probably more often than we care to recognize, but when we do, man, it is awesome, and I am grateful to be paying attention. Anyway: the festival went well. We got to play with one of my favorite bands, so that made it extra cool. There were 9 bands, and I thought it became obvious who people were there to see. Luckily, we were one of them. I had never been filmed so much in my life. The place was packed! I felt like I was playing to the paparazzi! I looked out into a sea of cameras, it was nuts! The band before us had a lot of people too, that may have helped. But it was so strange because, I don’t know where people were going. There was a good crowd for the first band, then people vanished for the next 2. The venue is not in an area with other establishments around, so it’s not like they could just go next door. Maybe they were sitting in their cars, I don’t know. All of a sudden, when a good band came on, the people all showed back up. It was bizarre! And I am very glad to have been in one of the bands that people were there to see. It felt awkward when one of the “less practiced” bands was playing to an empty house, which was full minutes ago. There were about 3 bands where I was like: “What the fuck is this?” I try not to judge, but when I actually want a band to stop playing, there’s a problem. Especially when I’m not the only one. It feels good to be over that stage.