Wow, 3-1/2 years since my last post. Lot of stuff has happened since then, too much to really cover, but I'll try to summarize anyway. I'm leaving out most of the crappy stuff.
Closed my art supply business. Had a difficult time finding a new job. Couldn't collect unemployment, since I had been self-employed and hadn't paid into the fund. Did odd jobs here and there, finally landed a job at a new Target Distribution Center which had just been built near Galesburg. That has worked out pretty good for me; I've become an Inbound Department trainer, get to pretend I'm Really Important. I probably have as wide a variety of jobs in the building as anybody. Also get to travel to new DCs as they open up and help train newbies. Went to upstate NY this spring for that purpose.
Meanwhile, I was in a band called FOM for awhile, composed of a few members of my old band, the Blue Rhythm Diplomats, and a couple other guys. That sort of waned after awhile, but the fellas started talking about reconstituting the old band to produce a CD, and next thing you know, the Diplomats are rising again. We've produced the CD, called Jams & Preserves, and have been playing here and there to support it. We used a session drummer for the CD, and have been using a different session drummer for our gigs, a guy I met at work. This drummer really helps us complete our Diplomats handle, as he is politically conservative and so we pretty much span the full political spectrum, collectively. God, I love America.
Artistically, I'm in a bit of a slump, probably at least in part due to my distinct lack of anything even slightly resembling a studio to work in. Hard to feel inspired in the pile of clutter that passes for my home. Still doing the life drawing gig on Wednesdays, that's about the extent of it right now. That and a bit of digital photography. I've given up on moderating any online forums, as I don't really enjoy dealing with the juvenile outbursts that inevitably occur. And I think artists are particularly given to histrionics.
I have recently acquired a digital multitrack recorder, so I've been getting some of my independent musical ideas down in recorded form. Feeling pretty excited about that.
My body continues to decay slowly, almost imperceptibly. I'm not in too bad shape, I guess, considering my advanced age of 48. Could stand to lose a few pounds around the middle, and the gout acts up now and then, necessitating the taking of Colchicine on occasion. Recently had to have my ears unplugged again. Something about the shape of my ear canal and excess earwax production. Last time I had this done was over 20 years ago, though I've self-treated in the interim as well. As with the previous occasion, after having the ears cleaned, sounds were way too loud for awhile as I adjusted to having unobstructed hearing once again. The brain evidently compensates for a certain amount of blockage by amping up the sensitivity of the auditory nerves. When the blockage is removed, it takes a few days for the nerve sensitivity to abate.
Family is doing basically okay. A bit disjointed, as usual.
All I can think of for now.
Closed my art supply business. Had a difficult time finding a new job. Couldn't collect unemployment, since I had been self-employed and hadn't paid into the fund. Did odd jobs here and there, finally landed a job at a new Target Distribution Center which had just been built near Galesburg. That has worked out pretty good for me; I've become an Inbound Department trainer, get to pretend I'm Really Important. I probably have as wide a variety of jobs in the building as anybody. Also get to travel to new DCs as they open up and help train newbies. Went to upstate NY this spring for that purpose.
Meanwhile, I was in a band called FOM for awhile, composed of a few members of my old band, the Blue Rhythm Diplomats, and a couple other guys. That sort of waned after awhile, but the fellas started talking about reconstituting the old band to produce a CD, and next thing you know, the Diplomats are rising again. We've produced the CD, called Jams & Preserves, and have been playing here and there to support it. We used a session drummer for the CD, and have been using a different session drummer for our gigs, a guy I met at work. This drummer really helps us complete our Diplomats handle, as he is politically conservative and so we pretty much span the full political spectrum, collectively. God, I love America.
Artistically, I'm in a bit of a slump, probably at least in part due to my distinct lack of anything even slightly resembling a studio to work in. Hard to feel inspired in the pile of clutter that passes for my home. Still doing the life drawing gig on Wednesdays, that's about the extent of it right now. That and a bit of digital photography. I've given up on moderating any online forums, as I don't really enjoy dealing with the juvenile outbursts that inevitably occur. And I think artists are particularly given to histrionics.
I have recently acquired a digital multitrack recorder, so I've been getting some of my independent musical ideas down in recorded form. Feeling pretty excited about that.
My body continues to decay slowly, almost imperceptibly. I'm not in too bad shape, I guess, considering my advanced age of 48. Could stand to lose a few pounds around the middle, and the gout acts up now and then, necessitating the taking of Colchicine on occasion. Recently had to have my ears unplugged again. Something about the shape of my ear canal and excess earwax production. Last time I had this done was over 20 years ago, though I've self-treated in the interim as well. As with the previous occasion, after having the ears cleaned, sounds were way too loud for awhile as I adjusted to having unobstructed hearing once again. The brain evidently compensates for a certain amount of blockage by amping up the sensitivity of the auditory nerves. When the blockage is removed, it takes a few days for the nerve sensitivity to abate.
Family is doing basically okay. A bit disjointed, as usual.
All I can think of for now.
posted by Ron at 11:59 PM
