On Taking Risks part I

Well, it has been a while since I blogged.  These things happen.  I've decided that I'm going to blog regularly again, and the way I'm going to implement this intention is by posting on a weekly basis!  About... music stuff still, and also about the rest of my life at times.

I wanted to blog today about taking risks.  When I first started this blog, it felt like a risk.  Putting my real name out there on the net and talking to a bunch of strangers (or nobody, if nobody reads posts) was a step I had to talk myself into.  I did it because I felt it was important for me to feel accountable for some of the goals I set for myself during my sabbatical year, notably - playing music with Elizabeth Riley Band.

And listen, because of writing the blog, I actually made contact with Nat Myles at the Elmdale and that's how we got our first gig.  Pretty damn cool.

Since then, we have played around town quite a bit, with some hiatuses here and there.  We've played some really cool venues, like the atrium of the National Gallery, Raise the Roof Women's Festival in a field near Kingston somewhere, St Brigid's (acoustics wow), bars like the Elmdale and Irene's, and a memorable barn dance out in the Ottawa Valley!  Basically, everything I do with music and performing just fosters a deeper love in me for doing it as much as possible.  It's a good fit.  It feels right.  Being on stage is a really comfortable place for me to be, and feeling connection with other performers and the audience through sharing music KINDA feels like the whole point of living.

This post is getting long, so I'm going to ramble on about taking risks some more in next week's post.  I'm taking some risks in my life these days that feel pretty scary at times, but I've thought about them a lot and they seem like good risks to take.  That's it for now.  Please comment!

New Year Miscellaneous Musings

As I scrubbed melted bubble gum off the inside of my dryer the other night, I thought about the year that just passed and the year ahead.

Last January, I wrote that the older I get, the less interested I am in my own angst. Instead of immersing myself in the full 3D surround sound of my angst, I find that it's like a movie that plays in the background as I putter around the room. And when I do pay attention to it, I think: oh yeah, that stuff. That stuff about what I haven't got done and what I SHOULD be doing, and the traits that I secretly think make me defective because they aren't the same as other people, and my regrets and embarrassments over mis-steps, etc etc etc... I wish I could turn off the movie or just leave the room or something. Maybe I'll figure that out someday.

But some things of note happened in 2009: I got a couch! Not only a couch, a whole set of living room furniture THAT MATCHES. Yes. And it was second hand. Also, I played some gigs. Survived a time period of extreme clutter in my house and lived to tell the tale. Discovered that indeed we DON'T have bedbugs (but I DO still have a bug phobia). Played many games with my ever-growing, astonishingly brilliant and devastatingly handsome son. Attended some great shows (including TWO Astronaut Love Triangle events). And decluttered my mind through unplanning. Then played some more music.

And those are just the things I blogged about...

I am still mulling over my goals for 2010, so I will just make this observation for now - 2010, rhymes with Jen. Good omen?

I heart Pete Medway

I met Pete when I was in grad school. At that time, he was a professor who taught in the Writing Studies stream of my program. I was not officially concentrating in Writing Studies (it's my field now, though). However, I either took or audited every course he taught, and even talked him and the department into letting me be his TA for a third year writing course that was not officially large enough to warrant a TA assignment.

His sardonic humour and habitual frown of puzzlement, not to mention a willingness to critique dearly held orthodoxies (including his own), are not intended to endear, yet Pete is loved by many, something that seemed to baffle him at times.

To talk with Pete is to participate in an ongoing experiment, a testing process for half-a-dozen theories, all of which can melt, mingle, and appear to evaporate, only to condense later into an insight that could not have taken form without going through that shared, discursive process. His enthusiasm for a new idea does not preclude his later enthusiasm for jettisoning the idea if it seems warranted. If the idea is any good, it comes around again.

At a time in my life when I was struggling to make sense of who I was and how I appeared to straddle many different worlds, finding a home in none, I found refuge at Pete's soirees, held roughly every month or two months, prefigured by a group email with the subject line: "Soireereons, enfants!".

Everyone who came had to bring, perform or enact something that they had created. The evening always encompassed a vast range of creativity and appreciation: I remember balsa-wood architectural models, dragonflies fashioned out of pipe cleaners, found music made by dangling recording devices out of windows at busy streetcorners, poems in a variety of genres, subversive posters that had been plastered all over downtown Ottawa, paintings, interactive sculptures, songs. Everyone had equal floortime to present or perform, followed by a question and discussion period.

When Pete moved back to England to work at a university there, I was sad. Sad for me and the other people who were (officially or unofficially) his students here in Ottawa. But happy for him, since he moved closer to his family.

I still miss Pete, and I really enjoy his blog. It's very petesian. Or medwavian. Or something like that!

Bad Girl's Guide to Generating Blog Post Topics

1. Steal someone else's idea.

2. Write a whole bunch of whiny excuses, angsting on and on about blogging/life. (O! the life of a blogger, o woe! It's so much harder for US than it is for YOU... etc.)

3. Make increasingly irrelevant and snarky comments on other people's blogs as a way of relieving your need to utter without having to click on that 'new post' button and come up with something for your blog.

4. Alienate the few readers you have by making personal remarks about them.

5. Create drama in your life and/or the lives of your family, friends and co-workers, solely in order to blog about it.*


*This is my favourite. It's also the baddest.

I'm back - and about to leave again

Okay - news.

I found a place and I moved! So sorry about the silence.

ERTB played a barn dance last weekend (the same weekend I moved - the same day I fell out of my dad's truck and landed on my tailbone - ouch!) and IT WAS AWESOME. Our hosts, Dave and Stella, have a horse ranch and they host this bash annually in their riding arena. Just to give you an idea of what quality people they are: Dave had a heart attack the weekend before, but insisted on going ahead with the party; Stella got up and sang some numbers with Tom T. Hill (I'll do a whole separate posting sometime on Tom T.). She is one cool lady.

So in case you're wondering, yes it hurts to fall out of a truck, move house and play music til 3 in the morning all in one day. And yes, it takes some time to recover. But is there any other way I want to live? NO!

Upcoming: we will be playing the Ashton Open Mic the Sunday after Labour Day.

I have tons of other blogworthy stuff, but... I'm leaving today for a much-needed vacation. I'll be back at the end of the month. ttfn (sorry for all the caps, too).

Things I haven't posted about

Life has been exciting and hectic and even a bit rollercoastery over the past few weeks. Here are a few things from this exhilarating time period - I will post about them... uhhh, soon...

-ERTB's trip to Morin Heights. Sarah couldn't come. However it was a magical experience... starting with packing the van.
-fan video from one of our practices (thanks Andrew!)
-more clips from the Ashton open mic (Wagon Wheel and Helpless)

...in fact, we are going to set up a wiki for Elizabeth Riley's Travelling Band, so that the multimedia can all be deposited in one place, in a collaborative fashion, rather than being randomly situated throughout the youtube continuum.

What else can I say? Heather and Ric got married. Yes they did, in a beautiful ceremony with lots of music. I enjoyed the fact that they saluted the four directions as part of the church wedding. I missed the part where they become officially married because I had to escort my 4 year old escort to the washroom. The reception was fun, but I was a bit cast down because I could not wear my silver sandals. Despite being purchased in the one of the most exciting fashion venues in the city (Value Village, natch), they indisputably are too big for me. I can only wear them on occasions that don't require movement, since I have to walk like a robot when I wear them. Maybe I should shoot some video of that, too. hmmmmmm

PS: You MUST go to the Black Sheep this Wednesday to hear Dave Norris and his cronies. Don't forget!
PS2: I found an apartment. Yes I did. Thanks for the leads and the morale-boosting!

Second verse, same as the first...

Where do I start? I am embarking on this adventure in the blogosphere as a way of communicating, yes; keeping myself on track, certainly; keeping track, for sure. In July, I begin a year's sabbatical from my job at Carleton University. During that year, I have a number of things I want to do.

I'm looking forward to spending more time with my son, who is starting school this year. It's a big year for him, and I'm glad to have time and a flexible schedule in August and September to help him with that transition.

I have some professional projects that I am working on and hope for some positive outcomes from those. I will be doing some freelance coaching and consulting work; taking part in a research project headed by a colleague at Carleton; taking at least one course.

My other professional project is in a different profession altogether - music. I have numerous music goals, but this is what they boil down to: perform as much as possible, and record. I'm not a professional musician, but I would like to be. I started playing the guitar as an adult, so I'm insecure about my guitar skills. I love singing. I have lately discovered a love of percussion, too. I've played open mics with my friend Patricia and a few other friends here and there. During this sabbatical year, I have some skills to work on (guitar-playing, songwriting), some songs to record (both original and covers), and I want to perform as much as I possibly can.