Sorry for the lack of posts...the last 10 days were full of travel and work, often at the same time.
I enjoyed a weekend off several weeks back. Aly's brother Doug came into town and I accompanied him around town all weekend while Aly worked her last few days as a waitress (yay Aly!!). On Friday we spent a classic NYC evening out on the town. I say classic because it started at 11pm and ended at 5am. The next day we went to Coney Island. The boardwalk area reminded me of Venice Beach without all the crazies and pot clinics. We were going to try out some of the rides but the costs were ridiculous as they averaged $10-$20 per ride. Fuck that!
On Sunday Doug filled his car with a bunch of Aly's stuff and drove back up to MA. We headed up on Monday, crashed at her parent's place and continued on to Maine the next day.
It was lovely to be back in my hometown one last time before heading west. Since Aly had never been, I showed her all around town, and during the day we ended up stopping at my highschool. It was a surreal experience walking around in those halls; I hadn't been there in 16 years! Several of the teachers I had were still there and I was able to visit with them. I found it incredible how they immediately recognized me. Back then I had hair down to my shoulders, a lot more facial hair, and I was easily 20lbs bigger, but they still knew who I was.
I think the most interesting part was walking out onto the stage in the school's auditorium. I'd experienced many of my first performances in front of a larger audience there and so this was a very nostalgic moment. Vivid memories flooded my mind...I remembered all the talent shows, the band concerts, the theater pit gigs, the solos, everything. It was amazing.
I find it very interesting how my perspective on my roots has changed over the years. During my 20's all I wanted to do was get away from Waterville and see the world. I wanted to stop being the kid from the small town and learn more about life. Nowadays I still want to experience new places and things but I also feel the need to re-connect to my roots and give back. I've decided that once I have the means necessary I'm going to work with the school system in my hometown and help create the best music/art/thespian program in the state. Eventually I want Waterville to stop being known as the 'sports factory' it is and instead be on the map as somewhere where art is highly respected and where students are nurtured, developed, and encouraged to make it their careers.
For the rest of the week we chilled with my folks. I managed to prepare two of my drumkits for shipping. I've shipped drums before and the best way to do it while avoiding a melee of boxes is to take the heads off and put the shells inside one another. This technique helped me get two drumkits packed into 3 boxes, but it took all day.
I'm not sure when I'll be back to Waterville but I hope it is soon; it is a lovely town to visit.
By the way, we have 3 more days in NYC and then we're outta this god-damned pit. It's been real...real disgusting. Could someone tell me why they allow people to throw trash directly on the street? Why are there mountains of leaking trashbags everywhere??? Have trashcans been banned in this hell-hole? Someone please explain as it makes no sense to me whatsoever. Thanks.
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