Driving into Hollywood feels like catapulting yourself into a sea of lights: red, green, yellow, and the halos of countless street lamps divided only my palm trees and high-rise hotels. Even a 2-mile stretch can feel so long with that kind of traffic-light wait time. But still, I found that I was throwing myself into those long stretches multiple times this weekend.
First there was last night with my showcase at RAW - the could-have-been-a-debacle that turned out to be an amazing evening with friends, family, and a sound system that sounded pretty good, considering there was no monitor. I got to meet some cool artists from Portland, and learn a bit more about RAW. The good news is, they'll let us venture out into RAW showcases in other states without the ticket sale requirement ... definitely takes the edge of. Isay it's currently a toss-up between Portland and Austin. The latter would allow me to see my sister again.
Then there was tonight, venturing to Laugh Factory on Sunset Blvd to catch my friend PK and a relatively new friend, KT Tatara, who I met at Columbia last November during a show we did together. What I remember most about that last time we met, was that we philosophized over media while eating great falafel at Maoz. That, and I wore my purple pants. :)
I managed to get my friend Austin to come with, which turned out to be great. He's always a lot of fun to hang with, talk music and movies, and just kind of sit back and chat. Austin and I joined KT and his friends for sushi at Katana, a fancy sushi spot on the strip. We walked over, to save ourselves the trouble of parking. I was glad I was putting my overpriced Nashville cowboy boots to use. Also, it was kind of cold tonight. More wins.
Anyway, it's off to bed for me. Tomorrow I've got to get back to songwriting and practicing for all the shows next week...maybe most importantly, I've got to master a special mash-up of "Rainbow Connection" and "Over the Rainbow" that I'm doing for someone's wedding in New York in exactly a week! I am sure all this can be accomplished if I don't get caught up in all these "How I Met Your Mother" episodes. Earlier this week, I got a freelance job writing HIMYM trivia for an app. All well and good, except I'm kind of a HIMYM junkie now, as I rewatch the episodes. And I'm only on Season 2!
Wish me luck.
In the meantime, remember to always see beauty in life. Including in yourself; your own very unique you.
(That sounded like a fortune cookie, didn't it? I wanted to end on a poignant but genuine note, so hopefully that came through despite the cheese.)
