December 28, 2006

11:08 p.m.

Many Months Later, She Made Another Entry.

Just got back from NJ, where I was visiting my beau, James. That was on the heels of Christmas festivities, which were on the heels of a gig in Lenox, MA, which followed a 425-piece promotional mailing, which followed a birthday weekend in Northampton with my sister, which occurred after four consecutive days at the gym and a NY/PA tour, in reverse order. That was after the PA/NH tour. You get the idea.

My Celebrancy course has been on hiatus this month and begins again next week. After becoming overly stressed about the upcoming semester, during which we're touring more than ever for longer periods, and feeling certain that I would never keep up with the homework and graduate in April, I poured out my woes to James. He suggested I arranged to defer the rest of the course until either the Fall, if they offer it then, or next January, when I'll have time to arrange to be not quite so busy, musically. The clouds opened and angels sang. I spoke to the head of the foundation (who happens to be a good friend of James's, and with whom we had breakfast today) and she said it should be fine, just talk to my teacher. In fact, she herself deferred half her course when she was just starting up the foundation, running it, writing the syllabus AND taking the course at the same time. So I'm off the hook for at least six months and maybe a year. Meanwhile I already understand the arc of ritual and could do other kinds of ceremonies besides weddings, like croning ceremonies, house blessings, healing rituals, etc. without any further credentials.

What a relief.

So now I just have to concentrate on keeping my musical chops in shape and getting through a heavy touring schedule for a while. Money has been reasonably available lately, the holidays were good, and my chronic neck/back pain and stiffness is being attended to at least sporadically, by James's chiropractor, a saint who sees me for free because he knows I have no insurance, and various other practitioners that I see from time to time. I got a Positional Therapy appointment for Christmas and it was very helpful. Apparently I have a slight reverse cervical curve, probably from playing guitar for 24 years and too much laptop use. No degeneration on the x-ray, just mechanical stuff that can be reversed.

Chris went for a physical and found that, since running, he's gotten 1/2" shorter. They have one of those things that you lie upon and swivel slowly upside-down. He thinks he ought to start using that some. Meanwhile I'm playing with dowels behind my back, doing exercises to release muscle tension, looking for different pillows and a way to raise my laptop higher on the desk and hook it up to an external keyboard. And I joined a local community center which I LOVE. They have an indoor track and a pool and all the machines you find at a gym, but nobody much wears spandex and they're just regular folks trying to get some exercise. No loud music. Very family oriented. And only 15 minutes away. Hence the four workouts last week. I have to take them when I can because some weeks I won't be available at all.

I'm reading a wonderful book called "The Time Travelers Wife." I don't have it in front of me right now so I don't remember the author's name, but I do recommend it. I saw it in the bookstore in N'Hampton with a "staff pick" review on it, and it said, "If you loved the movie, 'Sliding Doors,' you'll love this book." That was enough for me. It's about a librarian who inadvertantly and spontaneously travels through time, and a woman who goes through time in the regular way, and their love affair. Quite intriguing, and the author deals nicely with those pesky time-travel questions, like, "But how can you interfere with your own past?" and, "What makes a bloke travel through time, anyway?" I have always held a secret belief in time travel, even though everyone has told me it's impossible. Everything is impossible until you figure it out, silly.

It's unseasonably warm, still; the Farmer's Almanac predicted that December would be snowier than average, and we haven't had a flake yet. We have two New Year's Eve gigs in two separate states, and finally some freezing rain is predicted. I'm hoping that forecast will improve over the next couple of days. We've been very fortunate, anyway, and I'm grateful for the lack of winteriness so far.

Dar is in his FINAL show of something like a six-show marathon. I've barely seen him for months. I've been truly concerned that he'd work himself into a state of no return; he survived on about three hours of sleep a night for a while there. I think the schedule is starting to ease up, though. Meanwhile his newest kitty, a Bengal, continues to torment the other 4 cats six impossible ways before breakfast and be a gorgeous, wild creature.

Well, I can't tell you what it means to even sit for these few minutes and post an entry here. Life has been too damned busy, period. I'm slowly devising ways of cutting back, though there isn't much I can let go of -- deferring the class is a big help. For some reason, last year I decided to do all these new endeavors all at once, so that in a year or two, presto! I'd be able to make the living that any Rennaissance woman longs for. I had no idea I'd get myself into a scheduling nightmare. Thank goodness James is level headed and good at figuring out such problems. As A.D.D. as he is, as overly energized at times and as freaked out as he gets on a regular basis about his own life, he surely is good at sorting out mine.

Okie dokie. I'm going to get a good night's sleep (after doing some chiropractor-prescribed exercises) and have one day off tomorrow, before several more days of gigs. I hope you all had happy holidays, got lots of hugs (and loot, let's face it) and have something good planned for ringing in the new year. Let it be the year of Good Time Management (and Decent Income).