Rain, Rain, Staying Home, Rain, etc.

Here I'm is again. Since I posted last, a few things have happened of note.

I guess first is that the Hickoids played one of these Facebook livestreams designed to help the Lost Well out, paying their rent, etc. And it turned out to be a fine, fine time. We had not rehearsed for it at all, but I suspect we'd all had some amount of self-practice; I had certainly run through the live album and new songs for it. Wouldn't you know it? Most of the stuff we ended up playing was not stuff I'd practiced at all, but it still went fine. Upon watching some of it later, I thought it was a pretty good show, and John Petri made the whole thing sound pretty fantastic. A lot of money was raised for the LW, which was the important thing. And I had a blast playing again. Unfortunately, I was not able to keep a mask on while playing. I began the set with mine on, but after the song was over, I was a-wheezin'. So, most of the set, I joined Jeff in not wearing a mask. The others all did, admirably. But then, with all the drum equipment around me, I was never close to the others, anyway. I guess.

I did add the sampler to the mix; loading a lot of applause sounds in it, so it was almost like an audience was there! (No, it wasn't.) Along with other goofy interjections, the sampler added to the show. Michelle came out as well, and she had a good time, dancing in front of us and whatnot. We needed that. And I needed it from a playing point of view. I believe the last post mentioned how I was losing some will to play, but naah.....I still got it.

Last Wednesday was Michelle's birthday, so I took the day off work, and we went to Enchanted Rock, a place neither one of us had ever been. It was fun, but we should have gone much earlier. The temperature was in the 90s by the time we were climbing the main rock. Jeeziz! But we did almost make it to the top, and I suspect we'll make a return trip sometime (cooler) and go "all the way." For a time, I thought we'd make it, but it's as well, we didn't. We were both exhausted by the time we got back to the car. Afterward, we went into Llano and bought a night stand table at a thrift shop. It now supports my night lamp and CPAP machine. Looks good. And later, we got food from Asiana, one of Michelle's fave Indian joints.

Friday, Michelle's parents brought us food from El Dorado and her birthday cake. It was good to see them; had been about three months, I believe!

That's all for now. Not feeling especially creative on the writing front!

Is This The End?

Not a very cheery title, I admit. And I don't want to be a bummer, for sure. But there's something lately that I can't shake; a feeling that maybe this is the beginning of the end. I don't really know where this comes from. I'm generally a pretty upbeat sort of person, and I can't say I feel depressed or anything, but this shutdown of such a large part of life has me missing certain aspects of it less by the day. As in playing in bands, certainly.

The Hickoids are going to do one of these livestream things on Friday, May 15th, and it should be fun, but I'm having a hard time getting revved up for it. And I cannot pinpoint the reason. I've been practicing regularly since this all hit, playing mostly every day, working on technique as well as soloing and whatnot....sometimes just free-forming it with other recordings. It's always a good time...and good exercise, for certain. But the idea of playing with my bandmates again is waning by the day. Maybe this livestream will change all that. I hope so. Right now, Smitty has asked everyone how we feel about rehearsing once before the livestream, and I haven't answered yet. Mainly because I don't have an answer. Not everyone has answered the thread, though, so maybe if everyone chips in with a "yes," I'll go along with it. I feel fine about my own memory and prospective performance if we do it without rehearsal, but I suspect there are members of the band who won't have practiced at all on their own. I guess there's a part of me that gets a little peeved by that; my time can be ours, certainly, but not because you're lazy. Smitty might need to go full blower with his voice, though, and that I get.

But somehow, this move towards isolating just feels like the beginning of some end. And I'm not entirely uncomfortable with it, as weird and negative as that might sound. Michelle and I have a definite routine we're in now, which is okay. I cook five nights a week (thank you, HelloFresh!), and Friday we do a date night take out, followed by something on Sunday. I still have not set foot in a grocery store since this began, groceries being procured via HEB Curbside and Wal-Mart, depending on who's got a slot open in the calendar. I did have to go to Home Depot last week, due to a shipped lawn mower having an injury upon arrival. Had to return that and get another. But that's been it. Just a couple of convenience stores, and as previously mentioned, restaurants for to-go food. The funny thing is we're probably eating better than before this started.

I remember that Simpsons episode where the statue of Jimmy Carter is unveiled, with the epigraph "Malaise Forever" in full view. Malaise Forever is how I feel right now. Hope that changes soon.