Fine Tuning A Creative Life

New day shines

Exploring and learning are the center of my constant personal creative path. I live there. As a lifelong music fan and collector, I've wanted to play guitar for more than four decades. Seems it's time.

With plenty of encouragement from a great friend over the past couple of years, I got the bug that I've been waiting for and finally committed to playing just over a year ago. His friendship has been so influential, with hours and hours of teaching me a wide range of guitar technical skills, sharing musical influences, and showing me how to maintain my instruments. There is still a mess load that I need to learn, but I'm now making sounds and much further along than I've ever been. I'm thrilled to have finally added this 6-string creative outlet to my artistic journey.

Takamine

Over the past day, I fully detailed several of my guitars. I even went as far as to challenge myself to break out the tools to make a few truss rod adjustments. My uncharted challenge worked like a charm. Measuring now at 3/32 on the 12th fret, the action is perfect on both guitars. I was so jazzed about my learning escapade. For you longtime players, this task probably seems like a minor feat. For me, though, it was a proud win and reminded me of the feeling that I had when I changed the motor oil in my very first car all by myself. Yeeeeessss!

Oh, and that car… it was a chocolate brown 1965 American Motors Rambler Classic with mini chrome tail fins and a 3-speed manual transmission on the column. It showed its 12-year share of dings and mileage, but yes, I detailed the heck out of that $300 ride every weekend. Every weekend.

I am such a goober for self-maintenance projects. Ask anyone who’s known me through the years, and they’ll tell you that I have been a detail-focused geek all my life, perhaps even a bit anal retentive about it. Okay, I proudly own that... but for now, it’s time for a bit of practice. Missed chord or not, get that tour bus ready. I dig this stuff.

Guild Champagne Sparkle

Farewell Token With a Wink

Blackstar

Just as it does each morning, my alarm woke me at 5AM. Lying in bed on that Monday morning, just before my feet hit the cool floor, I laid in the dark while reading the message in my day's first email. In an emotional awe, I again read and reread the short email over and over, "Have you heard the news about the passing of an absolute genius and legend?"  I was stunned.  Just hours after I had spent most of the weekend listening to several albums from his classic library, David Bowie was dead.

David Bowie's Blackstar album arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon. This morning I carefully unwrapped the cellophane from the CD and paired it with a fresh cup of coffee for my 6AM commute. I was not disappointed. Blackstar is an album of incredible artistic integrity, beauty, voice, and pure creative experimentation. Plenty has been written following the news of Bowie’s passing about this being his planned farewell gift to his fans. In hindsight, Blackstar certainly plays out in that fashion, and it does so as only Bowie could deliver with genius vision and originality. Blackstar is a masterpiece.

My long commute was nearly the same length as the cd. As I was nearing the campus-parking garage, I noticed the car a good distance in front of me, wondering if what I thought I saw really was. With the red traffic light ahead, I closed the gap between that car and mine. Just as I was the week before, I found myself in awe once again before the sun had a chance to rise. It turns out that my distance vision hadn’t played tricks on me after all. Reading the license plate, I shook my head in disbelief, turned up the music just a bit more, and smiled.

Tokens are gifts. Thank you, Starman.

Ziggy

My Morning Stare

Coffee Date 2013 Gary Garbett

I spent the morning reading email and sipping coffee. Annie just kept staring. I deleted each of my read messages, filled my coffee cup again, and never once did she ever stop staring.

Those First Days Are the Longest

Draw the Line

As I prepare to dive deep into my second thesis in three years, I find that time is even more valuable than it ever has been. I suppose there's a possibility that all of this time stuff is nothing more than middle-aged fodder. Regardless, it still grabs my attention... especially when I glance at my watch.

Tick tock.

Winter Survival

I have a list of favorite things that wrap themself around my life. Even after deleting a few of those faves from my youthful years, my list still stretches longer than I can reach.

Following last night’s wintery weather, I spent today’s lovely Saturday morning with a few of my listed items. Each of these faves played a big part in preparing my breakfast feast of egg, bacon, and mozzarella on thick cut fresh baked whole wheat bread; arugula, spinach, and avocado salad with balsamic and parmesan; navel oranges; and steaming pot of freshly ground java all accompanied by a soundtrack of Grover Washington, jr. arrangements.

It’s important to note that these are in no particular order of preference since each carries about the same weight of goodness in winter survival… or for any day.

• cameras of various kinds

• a spinning turntable

• aromas from the kitchen

• snow

• hot coffee

• warm socks

• deli cheese

• fresh produce

• obedient pups (who also scored breakfast eggs for their good behavior)

• bacon

• more coffee

• a record collection of 43 years

• a flickering fireplace

• me time

• love of life

sum of the day

My tendency has always been to load up my two-day weekend checklist far beyond any possibility of achievement. For whatever the reason, this weekend has been different.

Saturday offered a perfect day for relaxing. After more than seven hours of listening to vinyl records and playing with my buddies, the hour hand began to cast a shadow on the afternoon. The cold damp day affirmed my decision to still be in my flannel pjs as a second pot of coffee began brewing. Though denim was eventually exchanged for flannel, our day of comfort was well maintained into the evening.

We're in the early hours of Sunday morning and there are plenty of naps taking place all around me. Faded blue jeans and a secondhand t-shirt have committed themselves to my day's fashion statement. A stack of selected vinyl await their turn to spin goodness at 33 and a 1/3rd and my coffee cup has once again promised to stay full all day. I’m not too sure what else I could ask for, so I won’t. It’s good to be with friends.

Perhaps removing expectations can sometimes deliver the greater return.