The end-of-semester marathon continues

It's been good, on the whole. Getting things accomplished at a pretty good click... papers, recordings... okay, just papers and recordings. Oh, and open mics. And more papers, and presentations. The usual thing, I guess, when you think about it. Still, it's not bad for not trying very hard.

That's the truth, though. I don't feel as though I'm having to try very hard, and I like it. I mean, I work plenty. But do I work hard? Not so much, no. Just dilligently, I guess, which isn't too bad, particularly for me. Typically, I work hard and fast, and then that's it. Things get done, if jut a little bit haphazardously, and then I sort of collapse into a puddle of goo for a few days afterwards. Lately, though, I've apparently changed my usual tactics. I still pull all-nighters, sure, but now I plan them well in advance. I'll say, "I'm pulling an all-nighter in a week," and then I'll prepare for the event... sleeping extra on days leading up to it, setting things up so the night's work goes smoothly, that sort of thing. As for the all-nighters needing to happen at all, I enjoy them. No idea why, but I really do preffer to work that way. Speaking of which, I'm about to embark on another one tonight... been planning it for days now.

I've also had the pleasure of my first snow here in New York. It wasn't much of a snow, by most reports, but it's more snow than this Texan has ever seen, so it was exciting enough for me. We had a choir concert, and snow fell that day, as well as a little the next day and the day after that. I'd say it came to about five to six inches in all, which, for me, was a fair amount. Apparently, I haven't even seen the half of it. Fine... bring it on. I love it so far... how bad could it be? Yeah, yeah... I'm asking for it, sure. Still, I could care less. I'm finding I love snow.

At any rate... I did an open mic tonight, my second appearance at Mickey's Blue Room. And, holy crap, people recognized me. Like, in a good way. Weird. I went out there with Dave Zoler, guitarist extraordinaire (as featured in previous blog entries); Jane met us there, and Eleanore, another philosophy kid, met up with us later. While we had a few beers and waited around for the open mic to start, it dawned on me that I had a few promotional stickers with me, tucked into my gig bag. I've always noticed artists' stickers everywhere when I go to these events, so I wanted to join their ranks for once. Jane took one from me and stuck it on a lightpost outside, among a few other stickers and posters... I thought it was a great place for it. In following with her example, I stuck one on a napkin holder at the bar... it had to wrap around a bit, but I think it looked okay. Actually, it was a little strange, seeing my name on a sticker like that. It was strange in a really good way, though... who'd have thought it? I now have publicity stickers in random places in New York City. Frankly, I'm fine with that. Oh, and if it's hard to read in the pictures, it says "-Emily McSpadden- ... listen to the dirty parts." Underneath that, in the lower left corner, it says www.emilymcspadden.com visibly enough. Anyway, I'm going to stick them just about everywhere, whenever the mood strikes me. As for the open mic, Dave did a great job, despite his own feelings about it. Seriously... he was really excellent, and I have the distinct feeling that this won't be his last open mic. Ah, if I could only play as well. Maybe I will someday, when I'm a grown-up. For now, I'll just work on it. I did my set right after his, and it went pretty well. I also did my best to network and get contact info traded with a couple of other performers, two girls who are particularly good. Well, one more than the other, but they each have their strengths. I also bought a CD from one of them, to sort of get an idea or two for my own CD when it's ready to come out (still aiming for February at this point... I still think it's a feasible time to shoot for). Good night, good open mic, good beer... no complaints from me.

Now, I'm home. The phone is nearby, the TV is droaning away in the background, my cup of tea is within reach, my feet are propped up, and my computer is on my lap. Let the second all-nighter begin.