a monday of expanded vision

Since moving back to the states, I've noticed I'm a lot more patient with American culture, and understand Americans' freak-outs better. On the whole, America is extremely efficient, an element we take for granted, and when that efficiency fails even slightly, it's "unacceptable" and that's when people get crazy. After being in China, where a little thing like mailing an item or exchanging money is a two hour bureaucratic ordeal, getting back to the efficiency is a treat, and no matter how inconvenient or long something takes, it's always in English and won't ever become a needless two hour wait in verbal darkness. I wish I could instill my wisdom and patience unto every American I rub elbows with, and may I never lose this laidback trait during my time here or for that matter, ever.

Humidity had broken at least for today, the sky unhazy blue. Lovely. Kyle stopped by and we played music for a bit. I played "70's Ballad" and "Sober Me Up," each with Kyle strumming the guitar chords I wrote down. It really opened up a new dimension in the songs, just having an extra element. The first, with some gentle strumming put a Bowie-esque vibe over it, made it more "Space Oddity" than Elton John. I really think all I need to round out the tunes is a guitarist and drummer. That would give the tunes a completeness, a four sided structure: vocals, piano, guitar, drums. It made me tremendously excited to hear new possibilities. I feel like I've been playing my songs through a shitty stereo and someone has just come along and gone "Hey, only one speaker is coming through," and now I've heard the whole shebang. I can't wait to unleash them.

Also this week I started writing a new song for Montana & McDeviltoast, a kind of organ-based major/minor ascending melody, with riffs and hooks galore.

Heather did her interview for a teaching job and got it ten minutes after she left. She'll be coming up to visit for Steve's big birthday blowout. I can't wait to see her again. I've missed her a lot.

Kyle and I, after music and grapes, went to Burnet Woods and played a round of frisbee golf, chatted about this and that, caught up on the last nine months, then I went to work. Afterwards, Steve and I went up to the Comet and saw The Genders, an experimental art duo reminiscent of a mixture of Can and Bauhaus.