Day 268 – Watching The World Go By

Well, not off to a great start to the year. Actually, scratch that. I’ve decided I’m not going to beat myself up about stuff anymore. I haven’t written in a week. So what. I’ve been readjusting to reality. Here I am now. Writing. I’ve had some time to reconnect with friends and even see my favourite local band, The Ruby Spirit play. Which actually, is becoming like therapy for me. It used to be that I’d come back from their shows and sometimes feel down about not being able to achieve what they are achieving. But if people continue with that kind of thought process then of course, they wouldn’t achieve anything.  As my Dad always says to me in his broken English, “Never look to da back. Always look to da froont.” I think this year, I’m ready to finally let that piece of advice sink in and internalize it.

When I was in Dublin, one night I was flipping channels on the hotel TV and In the Name of the Father was playing. It’s a film based on a true story about some Irish Nationals who were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and were falsely convicted of terrorist activity in connection with an IRA bombing in London back in the 70’s. Amazing film. You should definitely watch it if you get a chance. Watching that film and being in the UK and Ireland especially, I felt like I was just beginning to know the world. Let me rephrase that. I was just beginning to scratch the surface of knowing the world. There’s so much to learn and I suspect no matter how long you get to live, you’ll always feel that way. It’s like things are passing you by on a fast conveyor belt and you are lucky to get a momentary glimps of one or two things as they pass by and at the end of it all you feel like you know a little about everything but know alot about nothing at all. I’m in awe of life again. I think I was losing that a little before I left. But that is one thing I am thankful for: is being able to take that trip. I was desperate to find writing inspiration but perhaps what I found was a glimpse into a sense of innocence. Of wonderment. How beautiful is that? How lucky am I?

In awe.

Nowhere Girl

Watching The World Go By

Tears of fire, they cried drops of flames

The need for someone to blame

A life left in vain

Watching the world go by

Sitting on the atmosphere

Show me how to fly

I’m watching, watching, watching the world go by

Time swirls in a lucid haze

Reminders of past happy days

My senses, they fail me

Tape my eyes, can’t bare to see

repeat chorus

 

Day 229 – Vocals

More recording tonight. Vocals. This will be the last time I’ll be able to get in the studio before I leave the country for a few weeks. Only six more days! UK, here I come! ALthough, they are getting slammed with a truck load of snow. Yike! Hopefully the weather will settled down a bit before we leave. So I am off to get this done. Keeping my fingers crossed things will go smoothly. Last night got off to a rough start with technical difficulties.

Wish me luck!

Nowhere Girl

Day 227 – Satisfaction

I’ve finally done it! I’ve gone a full month, thirty days without failing to write something. It doesn’t mean that it was always good or even insightful. It just means that I actually got through a month without missing an entry. I’ve been at this quite a few months now and have not been able to stay as consistent as I initially set out to be. So this feels good!

As we move into the month of December I know things will get a bit spotty as I am leaving in eight days for my UK trip! I’m not sure how often I will get to a computer but I will definitely make the effort as I am expecting to be hit with genius inspiration often. Okay, maybe not genius but inspiration nonetheless. Being somewhere different and new can do that.

At the end of the week we go back into the studio again for a few days. Things are starting to gel together. It’s nice. I’m starting to get excited again. There’s something about creating that gets my heart racing. I can’t quite put my finger on it but it’s definitely what gets me out of bed in the mornings – or afternoons. Depends on the night I’ve had before.

Needless to say, I am very satisfied right now. 🙂

Later!

Nowhere Girl

Day 224 – Gone Baby Gone

Don't think this guy stole my rims but stranger things have happened!

So yesterday, as I’m leaving for the studio, I find all four of my rims missing from my car! I almost laughed in disbelief. Right from my own parking lot! And I was parked next to an Audi! Not one other car was touched. I guess someone was really desperate for Mazda rims. Very annoying. My car looks so naked. I guess I should be thankful they didn’t take the tires and all! I’ve heard stories like that.

I’ve lived in this neighbourhood and have never had a problem and now I find no rims. Unbelievable! Needless to say that I was definite I wanted to record Just Ain’t Fair as one of our songs for the EP. The second day of recording went well, although I’m sure all would agree that the night before was oddly magical. Recording can really be tiring, I realized. In the past I’d worked solo with a producer and we’d work on tracks in short snippets of time. But to block off two days straight will wear you out.

Good news is the drum tracks are all down. We’re going back next week for another two days, maybe three to lay down bass and rhythm guitar and maybe some vocals. At least that will be done before I fly off to the UK the following week. Lead guitar can be laid while I’m away and I can always finish off final vocals when I get back. The goal is to have a product ready for release by April or May of next year. That’s when my 365 day writing challenge will conclude. It will be a nice way to celebrate the result of this project. Here’s hoping.

On that note, it’s time to hit the hay. It’s been a long couple of days.

Until tomorrow. Sweet dreams.

Nowhere Girl

Day 150 – City Lights

Just got in from a drive north of the city. It can be so soothing to drive just after a rain when it’s dark out. It seems quieter except for the wet sound of your tires rolling through puddles.

As I was making my way back I could see the city twinkling below me. It really does make you sit back in awe. All those lights represent people out there. All twinkling away in what seems like an eternal abyss of light. I wonder what brought each of those people to the exact spot that they are twinkling in right now? Many have come from twinkling in other spots in the country and even the world. What brought their light here?

Seeing the city spread out in front of you like that – so vast – really reminds you that this life you are living is so much bigger than you. We are but a speck of light twinkling in the distance to some other stranger’s eye. Like the view from a plane when you are coming in for a landing. The twinkle of city lights smile up at you and welcome you. Whether you are coming home or are landing in that destination for the first time, you feel like they are welcoming you.

I miss travelling and seeing new twinkling lights with the possibility of meeting new people – perhaps the people behind the lights that welcomed me. Travelling would most certainly feed more of my writing inspiration. exploring new places has always been so romantic to me and I’m really looking forward to taking off this December to the UK where I plan on taking on England, Scotland and Ireland with a quick good-bye kiss to Europe in Paris. The ticket is booked, now let’s just hope this musician can scrape some dough together to keep her afloat while I’m there. It really helps that I’ll be going with a really close friend who knows Britain like the back of her hand. She spent her formative years splitting time between here and England until she moved there indefinitely in her early twenties. Now she can drink you under the table if you’re not looking so I know I’ll have a blast watching her take on the locals.

Life always has an adventure of some sort waiting for you to explore. That’s what’s so beautiful about the earthly experience. You just never know what you are going to get. And no, I did not mean to quote Forrest Gump. I just mean, you really never know what life will throw at you and wouldn’t it be boring if you did? Something to think about anyway. Perhaps another song idea will merge its way through soon. We’ll see.

As for an update on my friend Mickey, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him since my darling brother set up the trap. So either he is gone (I hope) or he’s too smart to go anywhere near the bait. I guess, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Until tomorrow.

Nowhere Girl