No, I wanna hear about your problems

It's reached the point where I'm annoyed when none of my 'regulars' has updated their blog. Never mind the fact that it's been ages since I updated mine, I've had it 'up to here' with my life, I want to read about somebody else's. I'm not saying it makes me happy to read about other peoples problems but it does make me feel less overwhelmed by the drama (and trauma) that's going on in my own life.

For example...

My sister insists we sell mom's house, where I've lived for over 15 years now (mom died in July of 2008), and my wife and I have no place to go thereafter. My job, in a convenience store, is demanding, stressful and frustrating. Oh I enjoy the work well enough but the management seems carefully designed to inflict as much damage as possible to my psyche and, as the only male on the staff, I'm subjected to rather a lot of sexual discrimination by which I mean to say that mistakes made by my female coworkers are shrugged off (if not outright ignored) while any mistake I make is placed under a microscope and dissected at length.

...and there's more but, as I said, I'm trying to get away from all that.

Walk Softly and Carry a Water Gun

I'm a musician and normally a band leader but 'band leader' is an ambiguous title when you consider that ramrodding a weekend-warrior band isn't significantly different from herding cats. My band members normally describe me as 'the guy who's driving the bus' despite that fact that we're far from being the sort of band who could afford a bus. Most of us have some sort of frequently-changing day job and I suspect that musicians, in general, have a substantially higher level of drama in their lives than other folks but I admit this is only conjecture. Most hard-core weekend-warrior musicians play more than one instrument, thus improving their chances of getting a gig, and are members of more than one band. I played the guitar in a rock and roll band in high school and played bass in a jazz trio while I was in the Army (sure wish I knew whatever became of you Vic). In 1978 I 'went Country' and have been playing one instrument or another, in one Country/Western band or another since then. Fortunately for me, Texas audiences are open minded so we're no longer expected to play Country all night. Audiences seem to enjoy hearing a little blues and rock. The blues can be new or old but the rock should be at least 20 years old and older is better. Most of the time I play the guitar but I own and can play, bass or keyboards. My wife owns a set of Roland V-Drums and I've been privileged to play them a time or two. I'd never have imagined that a completely electronic set could sound, or play, so nice. They're a real treat.

I've been living in the same town since 1990 and, by now, I've become a fairly well known and respected veteran musician. It's wonderful to be able to call on the most talented musicians in the region and know that they'll be as pleased and honored to work with me as I am to work with them. I've never been motivated by money, which I suppose is just as well since I've never really had any, but I find the respect of my peers to be a pearl beyond price. Of course there are musician in the region whom I dislike or who dislike me, I don't think there's any way around that, but I'm old enough to know that nothing is forever so I try to keep my mind open and my mouth shut. Rock on.