It appears that I'm going to have to start putting strict limitations on my computer use frequency--its effect is all too similar to amphetamines, I'm finding. Last night, I didn't even lay down to go to sleep until 7 am, and at that point, my brain was so spazzy from playing Victorian characters on an interactive chat room with my friend Jessieca that I was restless and wide awake until I finally just got back up around noon-ish. That sounds real nerdy I'm sure, but it's not my fault--Roger made me go to the website the other night, and he's the nerd, not me! I just figure if you're going to chat online--which I have been heavily reliant upon on this trip--then you might as well be a fat guy in a fancy suit holding two clocks, or a bird man, or Josephine Baker, instead of boring old being-yourself chat.
So I arose at noon, but only because my birth certificate arrived in the mail today and I needed to get an expedited passport ASAP. This is the SECOND time I've lost my passport, folks. I need to get a microchip installed into the material of the cover so that I can find it by satellite next time! We had to drive out to north Austin or somewhere and have this halitosis-victim click around on a computer keyboard for a little while so that I could pay him $75 (on top of the $160 a regular expedited passport cost). We'll see if its worth it, I guess. Getting banned from countries used to seem so hard, but I'm a fast learner. At this rate, we'll be cancelling tours and having streets all over the world plastered with posters of my face with a line through it! Dang it.
My very favorite part of the day--I saved it for last-- was when we arrived at our friend Chazz' recording studio to set up some equipment for tomorrow's session. We're re-recording our song 'The World is a Cigarette' because it didn't come out right when we recorded in L.A. His friend Jim--a very kind fellow, I should add--is to be co-pilot this operation and apparently works at the same music store that employs Chazz.
Upon arriving, we saw Chazz' figure in the driveway with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. We parked to unload, and as he helped lift some of the heavier stuff, he endeavored to explain in advance a few things about Jim to us.
"The main thing to keep in mind, really, is to avoid using the word, 'cigarette' whenever possible. I mean, I know it sounds really weird, but he has this phobia of cigarettes and can't handle hearing the word EVER or he gets extremely nauseous and sometimes even throws up."
Since Chazz is a jokey kind of guy with a silly sense of humor, my first reaction was of course to laugh. So I did. But in return, all I got was a healthy dose of reassurance that he was completely serious and that the word 'cigarette' was no laughing matter around these parts.
" But Chazz. 'Cigarette' is a lyric in the the fucking song that we're recording today, so how the hell do you expect us to avoid that???" I inquired.
Apparently, Jim has offered to leave the room whenever the beginning of the song occurs so that the offensive lyrics do not putrefy his clean, smoke-free thoughts. I can't imagine how he's going to be of much use to our engineer/producer under these profoundly ridiculous circumstances, but I'm very much looking forward to finding out how this will all unfold.
Stay tuned!
Oh, and here's that interactive chat site I mentioned earlier:
http://www.ff0000.com/ (Thanks a LOT, Roger!)
Showing posts with label Austin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Austin. Show all posts
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wizard's Energy Drink Season
There's something so magical and disturbing about non-stop lightning storms--on impossibly hot days!
We're raised as kids to learn and to recognize the characteristics of the quintessential weather pattern: Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring, and then it all starts back at the beginning. Apparently, nobody told Texas about the way this schedule ought to operate, and they've got it all fucked up. I woke up drenched in sweat (and with a bright red hair dye stain on my pillowcase!) after a night of suffering beneath the weight of merciless heat trapped in my small room. Despite multiple cold showers, I couldn't get my blood to hum at its usual pitch.
So, I spent another crippling day on road trip mode, even with solid ground beneath my feet.
What's this, you ask?
Well, it's not too distant a relative of nocturnal mode because it involves low physical activity levels during daylight hours, and nocturnal mode is already one of my specialties. However, it varies in that it relies heavily on daydreaming, list-making and completing minor tasks that don't actually need to be done, while nocturnal mode involves much more daytime sleeping. Both modes have similar side-effects: an almost manic, ecstatic hunger for creative output as soon as the sun goes down. If left to my own devices with no company and no pressing appointments the next day, I can easily spend an entire night frantically working on one small project, and I get so high from it that I wish there was a way I could sell it to other people! But so long as the sun's up and especially if it's unreasonably warm, I am like a lizard in a tundra.
I've learned to make the best of times like these, of course, and sometimes even look forward to them. Since I'm useless behind the wheel on road trips/tours, my time is usually divided into equal parts reading, sleeping and thinking deeply. Reading is always fun, but you can only take so much in a moving vehicle. Sleeping has grown increasingly difficult on the road for some reason, but I still fit it into my schedule.
Deep thinking and dreaming awake is a horse of a different color--what a wonderful treat this is! I enjoy and look forward to the times I am permitted to do this without offensive interruptions by music I don't care to listen to, or conversations I'm not invested in. In fact, I secretly get very frustrated sometimes because car mates will try to discuss something with me or blast cheesy radio hits and foil my sweet reveries! Allowing your mind to wander, to solve invented problems, or to simply invent period, is the keystone and salvation of a child's world. It is a survival skill when we are young because our early years go by sooo slowly and involve lots of waiting around and doing things that are boring. As it evolves into a superfluous indulgence instead of a necessity, we allow it to happen less and less and stop thinking of it as a tool, and I think this is a great pity. Everyone should make time to think and dream without interruption! You can have ideas outside of the shower, you know!
Anyway...
As I was saying earlier, I haven't been doing shit. At least, during the day. I have, on the other hand, had plenty of time to think, and I've realized that my mind is on a new plain lately. It's hard to say what is causing my adjusted perspective and sensory-tweakings, but I'm sure its no thanks to starting this blog and challenging myself to write every day, even if I don't want to.
Also, the aforementioned lightning storms. It might sound superstitious or just plain uneducated, but I feel like all the un-channeled electricity running through this town with its head cut off is vibrating my brain and charging my blood with weird, magical powers. My veins are pulsating and brimming with some kind of a wizard's energy drink, and I don't mind at all. Turn up the heat, zap it a few times, and maybe it will be ready soon!
This is a new kind of season! YAY!
You know, when I first started this blog, I thought to myself: "Yeah, I can do this! Maybe after a year I can sift through all the content and put a flimsy paperback together!'' But after that last paragraph, I really doubt that any of these entries will ever be worth printing! It doesn't matter, though. I feel myself inside of me more than in a long time, and its probably because I have evidence that thoughts and processes really ARE going on sometimes, and that is reassuring. Even when its cheesy or incriminating, its proof, and I needed that.
We're raised as kids to learn and to recognize the characteristics of the quintessential weather pattern: Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring, and then it all starts back at the beginning. Apparently, nobody told Texas about the way this schedule ought to operate, and they've got it all fucked up. I woke up drenched in sweat (and with a bright red hair dye stain on my pillowcase!) after a night of suffering beneath the weight of merciless heat trapped in my small room. Despite multiple cold showers, I couldn't get my blood to hum at its usual pitch.
So, I spent another crippling day on road trip mode, even with solid ground beneath my feet.
What's this, you ask?
Well, it's not too distant a relative of nocturnal mode because it involves low physical activity levels during daylight hours, and nocturnal mode is already one of my specialties. However, it varies in that it relies heavily on daydreaming, list-making and completing minor tasks that don't actually need to be done, while nocturnal mode involves much more daytime sleeping. Both modes have similar side-effects: an almost manic, ecstatic hunger for creative output as soon as the sun goes down. If left to my own devices with no company and no pressing appointments the next day, I can easily spend an entire night frantically working on one small project, and I get so high from it that I wish there was a way I could sell it to other people! But so long as the sun's up and especially if it's unreasonably warm, I am like a lizard in a tundra.
I've learned to make the best of times like these, of course, and sometimes even look forward to them. Since I'm useless behind the wheel on road trips/tours, my time is usually divided into equal parts reading, sleeping and thinking deeply. Reading is always fun, but you can only take so much in a moving vehicle. Sleeping has grown increasingly difficult on the road for some reason, but I still fit it into my schedule.
Deep thinking and dreaming awake is a horse of a different color--what a wonderful treat this is! I enjoy and look forward to the times I am permitted to do this without offensive interruptions by music I don't care to listen to, or conversations I'm not invested in. In fact, I secretly get very frustrated sometimes because car mates will try to discuss something with me or blast cheesy radio hits and foil my sweet reveries! Allowing your mind to wander, to solve invented problems, or to simply invent period, is the keystone and salvation of a child's world. It is a survival skill when we are young because our early years go by sooo slowly and involve lots of waiting around and doing things that are boring. As it evolves into a superfluous indulgence instead of a necessity, we allow it to happen less and less and stop thinking of it as a tool, and I think this is a great pity. Everyone should make time to think and dream without interruption! You can have ideas outside of the shower, you know!
Anyway...
As I was saying earlier, I haven't been doing shit. At least, during the day. I have, on the other hand, had plenty of time to think, and I've realized that my mind is on a new plain lately. It's hard to say what is causing my adjusted perspective and sensory-tweakings, but I'm sure its no thanks to starting this blog and challenging myself to write every day, even if I don't want to.
Also, the aforementioned lightning storms. It might sound superstitious or just plain uneducated, but I feel like all the un-channeled electricity running through this town with its head cut off is vibrating my brain and charging my blood with weird, magical powers. My veins are pulsating and brimming with some kind of a wizard's energy drink, and I don't mind at all. Turn up the heat, zap it a few times, and maybe it will be ready soon!
This is a new kind of season! YAY!
You know, when I first started this blog, I thought to myself: "Yeah, I can do this! Maybe after a year I can sift through all the content and put a flimsy paperback together!'' But after that last paragraph, I really doubt that any of these entries will ever be worth printing! It doesn't matter, though. I feel myself inside of me more than in a long time, and its probably because I have evidence that thoughts and processes really ARE going on sometimes, and that is reassuring. Even when its cheesy or incriminating, its proof, and I needed that.
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