Lovely breaks, however brief

... are breaks nonetheless. And lovely. So now I'm in one, and I'm doing what I can to make the most of it. I met my June 1st deadline on my thesis, so that's over and done with, thankfully. I also have myself nearly caught up with my reading for class, have begun teaching my summer lab, and am gearing up to FINALLY go back to playing open mics. First stop: Pete's Candy Store, one of my favorite Brooklyn performance venues, if for nothing more than the aesthetic. I'll be there this Sunday at 5pm, so if anyone's curious, bring it. After that, I'll make my way back into Manhattan, but there's no rush. Oh, and keep all eyes open for a link that'll let everyone buy my CD online. Until I get that all sorted out, you can contact me here or on my website, and I can send you one myself, but a downloadable version is also available, so hang on a day or two if that's your preference. Ugh... I hate this marketing crap.

I'm pleased to report that I've also reconnected with an old friend, one that I used to be intimate with to the point of codependence, one that veritably defined my daily life by simply being near me, a trustworthy friend that understands my needs better than anyone that's come along so far. We parted ways when John got here, and I thought I'd be okay, but the distance has only made me yearn all the more for the old pleasantries we used to share, times when we reveled in the lights and shadows of the world, of music, of philosophy, of the very mysteries of being. I could bear the excruciating absence no longer, and I ran like a frightened child in the dark, my arms extended before me, groping in the night of my soul in search of my truest companion. Having been reunited in a rush of wind and magic the likes of which has only been rivaled by history's deepest and most passionate loves, I feel certain we will never grow apart again.

I'm speaking, of course, of Starbucks.

Fine. So I'm a corporate shill, a pawn of the commercialist monster that stigmatizes every city block it lands on with the sad stain of capitalism, marking the world with its wreched stink as if to claim it from all things wholesome and pure. Whatever... it's tasty. Granted, many of my friends disagree with that assessment (Jane, I'm sure I'll get a lecture before too long). But there you have it, dirty though it may be. I've been back to my Starbucks habit for about two weeks now, although not quite daily... let's call it four times a week on average. That's not so bad, right? I'm not lost... and if I am, I'm happy to swim in it for a while all the same.

Meanwhile, June can get on with it, for all I care. It's July I'm looking forward to. A trip to Florida, no class to take or teach... a real break at long last. Then I can really spend some time writing new music, which I haven't been able to do for ages. June's good, but July is... well, I don't know yet. It'll be good, though. Watch.