Everyday Ordinary Miracles

      Today is opening day for the Padres, and I feel a little sad that I don’t really care. I wonder if anyone I know is at the game. I hope they win. But, other than that, and mentioning it here for prosperity’s sake, I am not concerned. I am slightly curious about the March Madness about to happen. After round one, we were in first place! After round two we were in fifth. There will be eight winners in round three, of which we only have the opportunity to win seven. That’s not fantastic. There’s still a little hope, but it’ll take a miracle. Well, maybe not a miracle. That word seems to be thrown around too much. I think it takes away from the idea that there are miracles. If we call things that aren’t necessarily miraculous “miracles,” then we may blind ourselves to the real ones. Wait, this just popped in: what if all the little things are miracles!? Maybe miracles happen so often we’ve become blind to them!? I mean, technically the fact that I’m writing this, and you’re reading it, is a miracle. The fact that we exist at all, is a miracle. Hence, anything that happens to us, is miraculous!  Wouldn’t that be uplifting if you walked around all day thinking everything that happened to you was miraculous? I know perspective shapes everything we encounter, and supposedly we are in charge of our perceptions, so technically, we could. But, I’m also a firm believer in balance. We can’t know “miraculous” without experiencing “non-miraculous.” Thus, it wouldn’t really work to experience everything as “miraculous.” Unless of course, you started dividing things into different levels of “miraculous.” If you started to perceive things as “more miraculous” and “less miraculous,” then perhaps you would be able to differentiate “Godly Miracles” from the normal, everyday, ordinary “miracles.” If that were the case, and I think it may be, then I imagine we’d end up in a similar situation as I’m mentioning now: coming to see the normal, everyday, ordinary miracles, as nothing.

     Whoa, I need my SCUBA suit for that one! (Because it’s so deep) Sorry, I’m not sure you needed the explanation, I thought I’d include it “just in case.” Anyway: I certainly didn’t know that’s where I was going. I wasn’t sure where I was going to go, so that kind of helped. I guess. I will try to be more “miracle minded” from now on. I may be on to something. I’m telling you: sometimes those tangents are gold! And it’s strange too, because I still keep doubting myself, as to whether or not there is any validity in doing this. I was lying down, trying to fall asleep the other night, and this kept popping in my head. Part of me is worried that if something weird were to happen, I don’t want this to be seen as some kind of manifesto. I don’t know what could possibly happen, but it popped in. Part of me feels like posting a bunch of random nonsense, that no one reads is a waste of time. Part of me feels that I wouldn’t really want anyone I know to read it, because I complain a lot, and divulge personal information. Although, I’m not really sure those last two are true, but it popped in, so I popped it out. Part of me feels like it would probably be boring to most people. Although, I was talking to some people, not too long ago, and they were mentioning that they wish more blogs were just the mundane details of someone’s life. I found that interesting. Very interesting! But I still did not tell them about this. And yet, it’s important to me. I enjoy doing it. I hope to some day be better at it. I’ve noticed that without being in multiple active bands, I don’t have nearly that much to say. Then, part of me feels that now I say more real things, instead of delineating my life. Which is what I’d rather be doing.

     So, it gets confusing. I feel that if anyone, other than you, were to read this it would sound whiny, boring, or mean. That can’t be good. I wouldn’t want it to be any of those things. I don’t think it is any of those things. But, somewhere I must, because it keeps coming up. And then I get the little “miracle” paragraph, and am reminded of the coolness that can come from it. I hope to one day have “real” things to write about. It probably still won’t be a swashbuckling epic, but not mundane. But, until then: Last week’s Equinox dinner was great! I wouldn’t say it is as good as the ones downtown, but pretty close. I ate so much, I didn’t eat for almost 24 hours afterwards. I don’t like that feeling. I only overeat a couple of times a year, and, last Thursday, I was reminded why: I don’t like it! But the food was delicious. I’ll definitely suggest it to my parents. Saturday’s party was nice. A bunch of us went out to GOB for some barbeque. It was the camping group. I was a little nervous because Lance, the new guy I’m jamming with, had said to keep it on the downlow. And, we were going to see the very people I thought I should not say anything to. However, by the end, it seemed like everyone was talking about it. Some people, it was the first thing they said to me. I was kind of like: I thought I wasn’t supposed to say anything. I don’t know. It didn’t get weird. In a way, it was exciting. People are excited about the “new” band, and excited that I am a part. I was a little caught off guard. It seemed like the “singer” especially was stoked to have me on board. It almost felt like me being on board, gave him the push to get on board. I was floored! It felt good though, another group of people glad to be able to play with me. Oh well, I guess I’ll just see where this little mundane miracle takes me.

The Doors Are Open, Spring Is Here

      Happy Vernal Equinox! Spring is finally here! Although, that wasn’t much of a winter. We had a couple of days near 90. I hope that’s just a fluke. We’re expected to get some days in the 80’s next week. Even the seasons don’t know what’s going on! I am happy though. I like when everything starts coming back to life. Except the gophers! I can’t stand gophers! Evil little buck-toothed vermin! My backyard has so many holes, I’m afraid to walk back there because I might twist my ankle! We had a whole bloom of Johnny Jump-ups growing in the yard, and the bastard-ass gophers took them down. Whoa, whoa, whoa, when I started this, I said I was happy, now I start in with the gophers, and look what happened. Sorry.  I am happy. I’ve been able to open the house up for the past few days, to let the heat in. I wish there weren’t so many dogs in the neighborhood, ruining my peace! Sometimes I feel like I live in a kennel. I’ve only ever heard these many dogs barking all at the same time, when I was near a kennel. It’s not just today either, it’s constant. It’s unnerving. Part of me wants to complain to the HOA, and part of me wants to… Oops, never mind, nothing to see here, I was just talking about how happy I was. I mean am. I do like the change of the seasons, as I’ve probably mentioned to you before. I think it’s important to notice, and take stock. Animals become twitterpated, flowers start to bloom, people start to think about outdoor gatherings. Regardless of all the “celebrations,” I think it’s good to keep an eye on what’s really happening: Spring. The time of rebirth. If we were farmers, it’s time to plant. And I see that as a metaphor for what seeds we’d like to sow. What do we want to put out that we hope we get a return on? I’ve been thinking about this all day, and, I’m on to something.

     My wife and I are going out to a fancy dinner tonight. Both Equinoxes, and both Solstices, we pick a place to go and have dinner that we’ve never been to before. It’s the only time we really “go out.” Especially by ourselves. We occasionally go out to eat, but nothing like on the season markers. Those are our 4 definite times. On our birthdays and such, we normally have a group, we don’t usually do anything just for each other. So, the seasons dinners are our only “big deal.” Tonight, we’re trying a new Brazilian Steakhouse. It’s the only one near us. I hope it’s good. The only other 2 are downtown, so having one close to us would be nice. Nobody I know likes parking downtown, and Lyfts are expensive from here, especially if you need more than one. My parents love Brazilian Steakhouses. We go every other year or so. My wife and I are kind of doing reconnaissance. Sometimes, before we take my parents to a new place, we like to go see if it’s worth it first. Tonight is one of those times. My parents are not as adventurous as they once were, so sometimes, recon is necessary. I’m excited. I thought about going tomorrow. Friday is usually the night I don’t cook. But, since practice got cancelled, and it happens to be the Equinox today, it seemed to all work out. However, UCSD made it to the tournament for the first time ever, and they are playing tonight, and we’d probably like to see that, but, some things are more important. Plus, practice was cancelled Tuesday as well, and that night, SDSU were playing, and I was glad to be able to see it. Until I actually saw it! It was a disaster. I don’t need to see another one of those. Anyway: today is day one of the tournament, and 6 games in, we’re in first place! We’ve picked 5 out of 6 right so far! Yay!

     Last week was kind of a trip. We decided to go to a little place near us called the Casino Inn. We’ve been there a couple of times over the past couple of years. It used to be a dive bar that served food. They were known for their burgers. But now, it has turned into mostly a restaurant. It still may seem a little shady to some, but for us, it has a cool vibe. They had a corned beef special, I was thinking about what I wrote you last week, and decided: I had to try it. It was the most amazing corned beef experience of my life! I have never had any better. I almost teared up! Not only was it the best corned beef, it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten period! I’ll never look at corned beef the same way again. Sunday, I went to jam with Lance. It was a beautiful day, and he has a cool piece of property, so it turned out to be a cool experience. We had never been to his house during the day. I took Susan with me, just to have something to do. We ended up doing a bit more drinking than playing, but it was alright. Usually, I don’t drink when I’m practicing. And I especially don’t usually drink when I’m trying to learn something. But, it was our first official “hang out,” so I decided to stay loose and go with the flow. Good thing! We agreed on 3, but we didn’t get started until almost 5! His son was supposed to join us, it’s very important to him that his son be a part of it. I’m contributing to their project. His son is Cole, he’s 22, I’ve known him since he was probably 7. This was to be the first time we played together. I didn’t know if we were waiting on him, or what. He eventually showed up around 6, saying he “overslept.” We got to play 3 songs, before he had to leave. He seemed excited, but man I hope it’s not like that every time we make plans. I thought I’d be there for 2 hours, not 4. But it was fun.

3.14.25

      Happy Pi Day! I waited until today so that I could say that. I remember Pi from school, but I don’t know how I would use it as an adult. I know what the symbol means, but I’ve never needed to use it as an adult. If I saw it in an equation, I would know what numbers were needed, and I know it has something to do with circles, radius, diameter, and the like, but that’s about it. I was going to look it up today, but then I realized: I don’t really care about Pi, I care about pizza! Any excuse to get pizza, is a good excuse. I am a numbers person, so any number nerdy thing I can find interest in, I take. For some strange reason I had the feeling this week to try to organize a pizza party. I’m glad I talked myself out of it. My wife and I were even going to go to our favorite pizza place tonight, but I just got off the phone with her, deciding that she’d rather just have pizza at home. I get it. It’s raining here. That may not be a problem where you’re from, but around here, that means: eww. It’s been raining all week. I kind of like it, but people don’t come here for the rain. Not only the rain, but, going back a minute, I’ve heard of a lot of situations where people make plans for Friday night, then back out when it arrives. It probably deserves some kind of fancy name. I’m not sure if it has one already. Something like: Friday Night Backout Syndrome. It’s easy to think you’ll be ready for Friday night festivities, but then, towards the end of the day, the reality of a long work week hits you, and all your plans don’t seem as much fun as the couch and a cocktail. I suppose it’s more of an aging person thing, the excitement of Friday night shenanigans lingering from the depths of our memory, no longer desired.

     St. Patrick’s Day on a Monday kind of sucks. We have a couple of friends that we usually spend it with, but they’re working, so no festivities this year. I just like corned beef and cabbage, I don’t really have any feelings about St. Patrick’s Day. I will still get some. I like to get them the day after, when they’re on sale. I don’t have to eat it on a particular day. It seems that most of the celebrations around here are happening on Saturday. I won’t be attending any. Unless I get some last-minute invite. I thought it was weird, I heard on the news that the CHP is doing full enforcement, with DUI checks all weekend. Another reason for the couch and the cocktail! I can’t believe they’re treating it with such importance. A whole weekend! Wow. Halloween doesn’t even get that. Maybe St. Patrick’s Day will be switched to the Saturday closest to the 17^th. Because, like Halloween, does the 17^th matter? I’ve never heard anybody even talk about St. Patrick on St. Patrick’s Day! If the person doesn’t matter, then the date doesn’t matter. No one wants green beer on a Monday. Well, I’m not sure anyone really “wants” green beer. It’s a good reminder that spring is on its way. It’s always fun to have a reason to celebrate, regardless of the actual date. We may be on to something here. Although, for those of us that celebrate the Equinox, two weekends of parties could be too much. Well, I guess no one’s throwing Equinox ragers. At least I haven’t heard of any. I think we’ll be fine. It is mostly a spring celebration anyway, and apparently people like to dress up in green and pretend to be Irish. I won’t be pretending. I’m asked on almost a daily basis whether or not I’m Irish. I have no need to pretend. I also don’t pretend to be Mexican on Cinco de Mayo, but that doesn’t stop me from drinking tequila!

     Dinner with my parents last week went well. We went to our local sushi spot. I always get the same thing. That’s what I go there for. It was nice, but it’s always a little awkward trying to catch up in a public place. First of all, you’re busy looking at the menu, that makes it hard to talk. Second of all, there are other people around, and you may not want them hearing what you’re saying. Especially these days! We live in a fairly “red” city, and we are all fairly “blue.” I consider myself a centrist, and would probably never go with “a” party. But, as we were talking about current events, it became clear to me that we may have not been amongst “friends,” as it were. Nothing happened, I just noticed myself being concerned that there were a lot of East County folk in there. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, and there was a bit to talk about. Oh well, I seemed like the only one who was concerned. I’m not sure they noticed. I’ll let it go. I’m going to jam with my friend Lance on Sunday. He’s from the camping group. Last camping trip he mentioned me possibly playing bass for him and his son’s project. I thought we were talking about “down the road,” but apparently, he wasn’t. Before we left for the RKL show last week, he pulled me aside and asked quietly, if I’d be interested. I thought it was weird the way he asked, almost not wanting anyone to hear. I said I’d give it a shot. Then after the show, he somehow got my number. Asked me again. Told me to let him know when I wanted to come out to his house. I said “okay.” Then he called me again on Wednesday! I was like: Okay, this guy’s serious. So, he finally nailed me down, and we’re getting together Sunday afternoon. It should be fun, we’ve jammed before, but this is starting to seem like he might actually have something going on.

The Memorial Show

      All caught up again! I was going to wait until tomorrow, so I spaced them out a day, but since, as we’ve been learning, tomorrow is not guaranteed, and since nothing worthwhile is likely to happen tonight, I figured: “Why wait?” I suppose if I’m going to make the transformation from “thinker” to “doer,” I need to do more. As they say: “There’s no point in putting off until tomorrow, what can be done today.” It’s funny, as you become more aware, a lot of those old sayings seem to make more sense. I did another one today. I had been thinking about having dinner with my parents. I think we may try to get together once a month, but it doesn’t always happen. I know we are busier than they are, but I don’t think we’re that busy. Susan sees her mom once a week, usually. What’s worse, my parents are less than 5 miles from us. My sister works across the street from where I go grocery shopping every week! And I still only usually see them on the holidays. I love them, we just don’t have that kind of thing. I think part of it is that they were gone so long, on the East Coast, and in Ridgecrest, that we never got in the habit. Anyway: I had been thinking about them. Realizing we skipped the month of February. Just for the record: They don’t call me either. Sometimes my dad will text me memes that he thinks are funny, but other than that, I am not contacted. This goes both ways.  (Insert juvenile joke here.) As mentioned, we are just not in the habit. Although, now that I write that, phones are not geographically related. We could still have been contacting each other, even when we weren’t close. I can’t really attribute that to habit. Other than, apparently, we’re not in the habit of doing that either. Anyway: I had the thought, texted, and now we’re having dinner on Saturday. Done!

     This past Saturday was Mark Miller’s memorial. I had met his son once, when he was like 11. That was about 15 years ago. He has special needs, and I had no hope that he’d remember me. He didn’t. Hence, we knew no one there. Well, I knew the co-organizer Jim, who I’d recently met, but that was it. There was also one guy there that used to work with them, I thought I recognized him, but he did not seem to remember me, which I am not used to, so I didn’t approach the subject. Plus, it was pretty much over at that point, and I had no plans on hanging around, explaining who I was. Also, we had been there over 2 hours, and I was hungry. They did have some food, but as mentioned, I didn’t want to go down memory lane with a bunch of strangers. At the same time, I figured if anyone wanted to know anything about me, they would see me the next day at the concert, and we could talk then. It was heartwarming to hear all of the wonderful stories about him, but I obviously knew him less than every other person there, and didn’t really have anything to share. It was a nice, Buddhist, ceremony. My first! People had a lot to say about his optimism, I only knew him as a guy who wrote a lot of sad songs. That didn’t reconcile in my mind. I thought perhaps he became Buddhist after I met him, but people were saying they met him in 1980! So that didn’t work either. Hence, I decided not to say anything.  We were both glad we went. We spent about 2 years with him, so he was a part of our life, but he meant a lot more to the other people there. I did feel people were curious about who we were, but my rebel side kept me from wanting to let them know. I figured they’d figure it out the next day.

     We tried to take it easy Saturday night, but didn’t succeed, and were a little groggy on Sunday, the day of the big show. We got there on time. There were already quite a few people there. I knew we wouldn’t go on for a couple of hours, but I wanted to support all the acts. They were not very good. I’m sorry to say. They all meant well, and anyone willing to get up in front of people and perform, no matter what it is, gets my applause. Deservedly so! But it was not that good. I was warned by Wagz that this would be the case, and I went anyway. But jeez! I still was not spoken to, nor did I speak to anyone. I was still met with looks of curiosity, but no one wanted to break the bubble. There was a lot going on. The event was cool, people really cared. We went last. Due to organizational drag, we had to cut our set from 6 songs to 4. I thought it was important to play the 2 original songs. That was, after all, what we were there for. Bias aside, we were the best act of the event! As was expected. Jim had once said we were going to be the “most professional” act there. It was true. People loved it, most of the other acts got “golf applause.” We got ovations! And, I am proud to admit, I nailed my song! No notes, a few beers in, and it was as if I had always done it. Afterwards, a lot of people said they appreciated how I play bass. I wasn’t sure what to think, so I took it as a compliment. All-in-all, it was worth the effort, and I’m glad we participated. Lastly: At the RKL show on Monday, which was awesome by the way, I ran into several friends. I had not known that the bass player from RKL was a phenom. I knew the people I went with thought that I’d enjoy it. Drunk, one of my friends, who was there, that did not go with us, told me RKL’s bassist is the one he always compares me to. Chills!

Should've Been On 2/27

      Alright, well, here we go, trying to knock out 3 in a week. It’s a little weird that it feels so strange to do so. About 10 years ago, I was writing an hour a day. Now to write three hours in a week, and I’m like: “What am I gonna say?” Although, I will say, back then, I was actually working on something, I wasn’t just documenting the mundane details of my week. I suppose, in a way, this is still an extension of that. I consider myself practicing for when that project ever gets ready for “primetime.” However, a lot of the stuff I read says that if you ever wait until you’re “ready,” you won’t make it. It seems to me, from some of those readings, that you’ll probably never feel “ready.” There technically isn’t a “ready,” you just have to go for it, and figure out the minutiae along the way. But, I feel I may be missing more than just minutiae. And, other than just the idea of getting into the habit of writing, I’m not sure if this is “helping.” I will say, however, that just last night, as I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, all of a sudden, I felt like I was getting glimpses into the parts I feel might be missing. I started to see where I could go with the “information” I feel that I’m getting. It made me wonder if the new ideas were able to flow in now, because I have time for them now. I know it might not seem like a lot on the outside, but I really have been mentally preoccupied for the past couple of weeks. Now I’m open. And, having nothing really going on this week, maybe my receptors are more open to receive the “new” information. I was starting to have thoughts about some of the games, and was being flooded with all of this “information,” and all I could think of was: “While I’m trying to fall asleep?”

     If this was written on 2/27, I would have told you I was excited about practice. It was the final practice before the show. We had just practiced all together for the first time a week prior, and I was looking forward to hearing how it sounded after we had time to think about it. I would have mentioned a strange thing that occurred the week before. I guess it would have been two weeks ago. This is getting confusing now. If this were written last week, I’m referring to an event that happened two weeks ago. I’m sure of it now. I would have told you, to make it more clear, that on the 13^th, Jim, the guy we were working on this project with, had made a curious disclaimer. Wait! I need to go back a little bit further, to set the scene. Sorry this is so disjointed, but hey, this is what happens. To set the scene: For the show on Mar 2, we were originally going to play 5 songs: A jam, 2 covers, and 2 Miller originals. We jammed great, I was not concerned about that. Jim took one cover, and Wagz took the other. They were both coming along very well. So well so, that we added another cover that Wagz sings. I wasn’t sure when we started who was going to be handling the originals. Wagz and Jim have been friends a while, and Wagz had told me that Jim was taking the part of Miller, so we would just do our “normal” thing. Our first practice Jim knew one of the originals, but not the other. We played the original recording through the PA, and were able to practice to it. After that, I asked if he needed me to take the other original. He said “no,” that he had been busy, and would be more focused for the following week. He never played either of the 2 originals before, so I thought it may have been a lot.

     I started practicing the second original, just in case. So, this brings us to the 13^th: He still didn’t know it! I was like okay, let me give it a try. I had been working with it a little, but thought I could squeak by. I had to look at the words while playing, which was its own special challenge, but I survived. At that time, Jim told me that if he didn’t have the song ready by the 20^th, he would pay for the entire practice. That’s $53! I told him not to be silly, but he said: “just watch.” I wasn’t sure what to think, so I practiced the song anyway. Now that brings us to the 20^th. Come the night of the 20^th, he was not ready. It seemed clear that he had spent a little time on it, but was in no way “ready.” I had been working with it, and when I took my turn, the other bandmates said that I had a more clear vision, and said that they thought I should take that song. It felt good. I put work in. At the end of that practice, Jim mentioned he said he would pay. I was glad he remembered, and brought it up, but I couldn’t do that to him. I said he didn’t have to, and thanked him for offering. So, it was my song now. I worked all last week on memorizing it. I had never sang it before. It had been 15 years since we played it regularly. I had all my bass parts down, but I wanted to do the song justice, and play it “right.” I didn’t want to have my notes, I wanted to “know” it. I wanted for people to hear it and think it was good, and that I knew what I was doing. So, I worked on it for two weeks! And, if this was written on 2/27, I would have told you that I thought I was ready, and was going for it “off book,” tonight!

Should've Been On 2/20

      Wow, already into March, and I’m missing two from February. I realized it last Friday, but it was Friday, and seemed like not enough time to try to fix it on the fly. Now the question is, do I fill in the gaps or let it roll? Obviously, I can’t get to 52 if I don’t fill them in, so that’s not going to happen. But to write three in one week!? That might be a little boring. Although I did have a slightly crazy weekend, it wasn’t that action packed. Last week, when I realized I had spaced, I actually had to look up how many I missed. I was glad to see it was technically only one, even though by now, it’s two. I had been focusing so hard on learning these new songs for the memorial, I just forgot. It’s weird to admit. I probably could have found the time, but I literally forgot. That’s very unlike me. Now to try to go back over the last two seemingly boring weeks seems almost futile. It’s funny, because it really does seem to be feast or famine. My schedule was full, and now nothing. It was interesting that the memorial came around just in time for the famine. For the past weeks, I’ve actually had something to work on. Now it’s over, and I’m feeling a little like: “What next?” Both bands are taking this week off, so it really feels desolate. Tonight, I’m going to see a band called Rich Kids on LSD. I’ve only ever really heard of their name, I know people like them. The guys from the camping group love them, and asked me to go. So, I am, although I don’t think I feel as excited as I should. They are. I’m sure I’ll have fun. But I see punk bands all the time. They don’t. Anyway, it gives me something to do this week. And now is probably a perfect time to get back to all the other things I’ve had on hold for the past few weeks.

     Going back to the week of the 20^th: I would have told you that things were getting exciting. The Calvins are working on a new song. That’s always fun. Except sometimes we work on the same 30 seconds for a month, and then, once we’re starting to make some headway, someone wants to change it. Every single time! I’m not going to name names, but it’s not the rhythm section or the singer. Woops. It’s part of the creative process, and I believe, at least at this moment, that we were able to keep the changes from happening. We gave it some time, we tried it out. But, at the end of that practice, we went back to the original way, and it sounded pretty good. I would also have told you that I was excited because the memorial group was finally getting our drummer. The two weeks we had played without him were necessary. However, as we were getting ready for our first time with him, we were ready. And we were excited. Playing with a real drummer is quite a bit more fun than playing along to a drum machine. I had sent our drummer the rehearsals we had done with the drum machine, just so he could hear what we were doing. Originally, 15 years ago, we were playing them all acoustically, so he never played a drum kit to these songs. Back in the day he was using hand drums. Thus, this was going to be an all-new experience. For all of us. I was a little unsure about sending him the tracks, because he was seeming apprehensive about the whole thing. I was glad when he thanked me for sending them. He said it was very helpful. And, when we got to practice, he already had some ideas. Good ideas. And the songs sounded better than they ever did. It seemed to brighten everyone’s mood having things come together so organically. We wouldn’t have it any other way. It also seemed that people sincerely liked having something to work on. It was refreshing.

     Saturday, the 22^nd, Susan and I went to the Ful Circle Saloon to see our friend’s band The Rambling Outlaws. We’ve been friends with their drummer for a long time, and he’s moving to Nashville, so this was his “goodbye” show. The place was packed! We also got to see the Hustler’s singer, and her husband. We don’t get to see them much since I’m not in that band anymore. It’s kind of a bummer too, because we all seem to really get along. I’ve heard things are still not going that well. Part of me feels sad for them, but the other part of me feels like: “Oh good, it wasn’t just me.” Apparently, the husband had to have a few words with the guitarist about his attitude. Normally things wouldn’t be like that, but since they practice at their house, and the husband runs their recording studio, it’s his home and equipment, so you have to be respectful. This guitarist would say “respect” is a big deal to him, but people who know him, would claim to not “see” it that much. Anyway, I don’t want to get back into all of this again. We’re going to see each other at shows, but I don’t have to talk to or interact with him. And thankfully, he must feel that way too, because we were both at the show I’m referring to, and we didn’t even look at each other. He was not playing, he was just there. I will not be going to any shows where he’s playing. Unless one of my bands is playing too. Which is kind of a bummer too, because I do like the other band they’re in together. Oh well, maybe I’ll get over it. Someday. But I also heard the new bass player isn’t a fan of his. You have to be flexible these days. I miss the gigs, but I do not miss the garbage associated with them. I’ve been much happier and mellow since leaving.