I'm starting to fall into a blogging rut as album preparations take over my brain. So... How about a point-form post?
What I've been up to:
- Went skating on the canal with Milan. He had assured me that he wasn't much of a skater, which I stopped believing after he did his seventh twirly thing and stopped on a dime. I responded by falling several times, moving at the speed of a slug, and preferring to ram into objects, people or walls instead of trying to stop. (I still don't really know how to stop)
- Helped celebrate Venus Envy's 10th anniversary at Club Saw. I co-hosted, worked the door, helped set up and tear down, and donned a shiny teal dress that might as well have been a shirt. It was a fine evening.
- I re-read the Harry Potter series in anticipation of the final movie coming out later this year. There's no denying it - I am a rabid fan.
- Took Morty to the vet. When the vet got down on her knees to whisper sweet nothings in Morty's ear, he got excited and pooped on the floor. Frida just purred happily. Those crazy bulldogs.
- Wrote another new song. Aww yeah.
More soon when I can think of something interesting to write about!
I'm home sick after a particularly vomitus evening. Is that a word? It is now, at any rate.*
I'll use the sick day(s) to plan out the album a little more.... Studio time is approaching fast, and I'm worried about being ill-prepared.
Great news: I've found a web designer. Better than that, I've found a web designer I can afford! Did I mention that the last place I called quoted me $5000 - $10,000 for what I wanted? YEAH. I nearly lost my dinner then, too. Thanks to everyone who sent along their suggestions - you are lovely.
I'm itching to show you all my new press shots, just because I'm super excited about them. However, seeing as how I very rarely post pictures of myself on here, I'll probably have to wait until the new music site is up and running. Then you'll get the full package deal.
It's tricky, this independent music stuff. I can't afford to do it full time, although I'd like to be able to. I also refuse to think of myself as an amateur just because it's not my only job, so when I take on projects, I want them to be as professional as possible. Tough line to balance when everything has a price. Am I making sense? I'm just saying that I'd really like this next album to be good.
I think I'll try to get a cup of tea down my throat before bed. Goodnight!
*I'm not pregnant! (as far as I know)
I read a lot of blogs, and on those blogs I keep hearing people say that they are ready for spring.
Ready for spring? Ready for spring??
I'm going to hope that the people writing such things live in a warm part of the US, because I am just hunkering down for winter. January is going fast, certainly, but February and March have yet to arrive. I suspect they will kick our collective asses.
I guess what I'm trying to say is.... I can't think about spring yet. Too soon.
Speaking of hunkering down, the new album seems to be shaping up around a theme of hibernation. I like that. I also got a sneak peek at my new press shots, and I am super excited to get the finished product in my hands. According to my BH, I look angry in them. Great! This album already feels a lot moodier than the last one, so bring it on.
I'm also *tentatively* talking with someone about redesigning my web site. I say *tentatively* because I don't want to jinx the process... Do you know how hard it's been to find a fully-trained web designer? Good lord, if I knew there was such a shortage, I would have gotten myself trained up ages ago. Fingers crossed that they are cool, and that I can afford their services.
This weekend I plan to clean the house. For some reason, I have trouble motivating myself to do serious cleaning on weeknights. I'm saving it all up for Sunday, I guess.
Have a good weekend!
Dang! I missed de-lurking day! I seem to miss it every year.... It's like the Polkaroo.
Let's pretend it's actually today, shall we? Lurkers! Regulars! Pop out and say hello. :)
Some more musical things have happened. My old producer came to visit. We plied him with coffee, cinnamon buns and bulldogs. It was the perfect way to start discussing recording.
Dudes, I think I might find myself in the studio in under a month. I'll do some prep recording at home, we'll hash out our ideas in advance, and I'll be studio bound. I can't believe it's really happening. I don't have enough money to do a whole recording yet, but I'll just do what I can and figure it out as I go. Total opposite of how I did things last time. Remember, you can still donate here if you want to help support the new album!
I also did a photo shoot yesterday to get some new pictures for the album / web site. It was insanely cold and we shot everything in a dog park, so basically an open field. I couldn't feel my toes when we were done, but I'm feeling really optimistic about the pictures. I'll get to see them in about a week.
Oh, also? I got new hair. Or rather, I told my stylist to "have fun and shave something." Luckily she chose my head.
I don't know what it is, but I like it.
I'm in a great mood because I just put a decent chunk of money on my credit card. I know that could change when the next bill rolls in, but for the moment, I feel financially responsible.
If you've been reading a while, you may remember that I love organizing and financial planning. Both those things are funny because while I may be organized, I'm not tidy, and while I may love financial planning, I'm bad at math. So I'm messy (but I label everything!), and very good at planning money (as long as I don't have to do multiplication).
I bring this up because a year ago, when I was finding my house and making plans to buy it, I was super on top of things. I had lists, I had savings, and I was having a great time. As often happens with house purchases, I didn't factor in a bunch of stuff when I was getting organized, and all my great lists went to shit.
I blame most of this on the renovations going over budget, the fact that we barely had a budget to begin with, and the fact that we were trying to do everything on one income. When my BH graduated and jobs weren't immediately rolling in, my stress hit the roof, and the following thing happened:
On payday, my mortgage would come out, my bills would come out, and my loan payment would come out.
Then I'd have about $100 for two weeks, with two adults, two dogs, groceries, and everything else that comes up in life.
This is a really roundabout way of explaining why my credit card got so out of hand.
It's funny because, as a financial planning geek, I could see what was happening. Obviously I didn't want to put anything new on the card, but short of living off lentils and avoiding all our friends, we would need to spend money here and there. We just held out hope that my BH would be able to find a good job, and then we'd tackle the mess.
Now my BH is working, and with his contributions, I have been able to dump money onto that card like you wouldn't believe. It feels so nice, and I'm going to keep it up until it's gone. Then I'm going to destroy my debt. Hear that, debt? I'm gonna fuck you up.
Yeah.
The End.
If you've been reading a while, you may remember that I love organizing and financial planning. Both those things are funny because while I may be organized, I'm not tidy, and while I may love financial planning, I'm bad at math. So I'm messy (but I label everything!), and very good at planning money (as long as I don't have to do multiplication).
I bring this up because a year ago, when I was finding my house and making plans to buy it, I was super on top of things. I had lists, I had savings, and I was having a great time. As often happens with house purchases, I didn't factor in a bunch of stuff when I was getting organized, and all my great lists went to shit.
I blame most of this on the renovations going over budget, the fact that we barely had a budget to begin with, and the fact that we were trying to do everything on one income. When my BH graduated and jobs weren't immediately rolling in, my stress hit the roof, and the following thing happened:
On payday, my mortgage would come out, my bills would come out, and my loan payment would come out.
Then I'd have about $100 for two weeks, with two adults, two dogs, groceries, and everything else that comes up in life.
This is a really roundabout way of explaining why my credit card got so out of hand.
It's funny because, as a financial planning geek, I could see what was happening. Obviously I didn't want to put anything new on the card, but short of living off lentils and avoiding all our friends, we would need to spend money here and there. We just held out hope that my BH would be able to find a good job, and then we'd tackle the mess.
Now my BH is working, and with his contributions, I have been able to dump money onto that card like you wouldn't believe. It feels so nice, and I'm going to keep it up until it's gone. Then I'm going to destroy my debt. Hear that, debt? I'm gonna fuck you up.
Yeah.
The End.
Some exciting things are happening.
1. I am booking studio time. It's preemptive, because I still don't know how much recording I'll be able to do at home, but either way I will need the studio for drums, mixing and general finessing. We're looking at March or April. Holy AWESOME. I have missed those long nights at the studio, and trust me when I say I never thought I would. I'll be heading back to my home away from home, Gallery Studios in the Glebe.
2. This weekend, I am doing a photo shoot with a fabulous local photographer who will help me pick the look for my new album / web site.* I still haven't secured a web designer (I honestly can't believe how hard it's been to find someone who can do what I need) but I've got the new site planned out and it's going to be neato. I might even dabble with the Twitter, even though I hate the Twitter. We'll see if I can stand it. What do you think, media-savvy folks? Is it worth it for promotion, or will it go the way of Myspace? Because part of me thinks it's the devil.
3. I have another new song, which means not only is my writers' block gone, I am writing more than I have in about six years. Morty isn't happy about it, because it requires handling instruments, and instruments are SCARY. Poor bulldog.
*"Photo shoot" sounds very posh, I know, but I can assure you this will be anything but posh. We plan to climb onto various roofs in Centretown, wrap me in oversized coats, and snap some shots without dying. It's going to be excellent, providing I don't die.
It's really winter this time.
We had a drastic thaw not long ago, and although I'm not a huge fan of the cold, I found myself missing the snow. Part of that was because I prefer full-on winter over transition weather, but I also don't like how messy my yard gets when it's wet with no snow.
A section of the canal is even opening this weekend! (Not this section, just so we're clear)
Although I've nurtured a lifelong hatred of winter sports, I do plan on buying skates, and I also hope to learn cross-country skiing. We'll see if either of those things happen this winter.
This is a print I bought for Shawna, gave to her, and then bought one for myself because I liked it so much. Now we're art buddies.
I kinda want a spoof version that says "Do WHO you love," but that's just me.
In completely unrelated news, it feels so good not to be gigging right now. I've got something booked for April, but unless I get an irresistible offer, I'm going to stay away from shows for the winter. There's plenty on my plate without gigging - I've got an entire recording program to learn, not to mention a whole lot of songs wanting to be written. Oh, and an album to record.
What was I thinking?
Anyway, it's probably a good way to spend the winter. Maybe I'll spend every winter recording an album. I hibernate when it gets cold, so it might actually be the perfect winter activity.
Huh. I love brainstorming on the blog. Look what I come up with! WINTER RECORDING MANIA.
Happy 2011, internet!
My New Years was very nice, but had some odd twists and turns. I haven't really caught up on my sleep either, so I've got zombie eyes and I'm fighting off a headache. I'm looking forward to napping, whenever that happens....
(Please let it happen.)
One good thing that came from the holiday is the fact that I finished setting up my new studio equipment. I now spend at least a few hours per week playing with my digital drum machine. Scary fun. Suppose I should actually get some recording done, though.
I took down my Christmas tree before NYE in an attempt to get the house in order, and then I regretted it almost immediately. I think I'll wait a bit longer next year. Up around Dec. 1, down around Jan. 1. That makes more sense. You only get a tree once a year, after all.
I made this bunting sometime over Christmas break with scrap paper and ribbon. It's uplifting and pretty - maybe it will stay up for winter.
CUTE. Those are some awesome bulldogs right there. They look like I interrupted an important conversation. I'd like to think it was about how to kill the resilient squeak in that yellow pig to the right.
I've been reflecting a lot on 2010, since it was a year of absolute madness, and wondering what this next year will bring. A theme kept coming back to me about how I want to live : quality over quantity. In every way possible. With material stuff, with food, with gigs, with friends. Especially friends.
I'm at the point where I'll gladly take my small, close knit group of friends over just about anything. This past year, I've caught myself holding on to old friendships that seem to have expired, hoping that they will come back to life. Maybe I'm overly sentimental, but I hate to think of friendships dying out just because of spotty communication. Friendship is something to be nurtured! Still, I'm tired of the non-responsive and the one-sided nature of this hanging on. It's such a letdown. This will be my year to let go and appreciate those I have.
I have some very simple goals for 2011, and I'm not going to sweat it if they don't pan out.
- Pay down debt. Lord knows how much or how little, but whatever I can. I want it gone, and this is the year to start.
- Create. Ideally an album, but at very least give myself room to write songs, play with new instruments, do arts and crafts, and bake. I'm already well on my way.
- Enjoy this house. It was a process to buy it and fix it, but now I want to enjoy it. I reached a major life goal in buying a duplex, and I plan to love every inch of this home. Included in this goal: buy myself a hammock when the winter is done and soak up that backyard. After all, a giant motherfucking cement garage was standing there only a year ago! Imagine that.
I guess those are my "resolutions," but whatever you want to call them, they will be rewarding to fulfill.
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