My heart is heavy and my brain is trying to digest what has happened because it doesn’t make any sense. But then, suicide never does, at least not to the living. ….and so I start with the first new column in five weeks talking about a topic that has been highlighted in the news far too much lately……but the famous are not alone in their despair. I know, I know, not a very uplifting subject but it’s one that has hit precariously close to home…..twice in exactly one week.
I’ve been pretty much off the ‘net and the grid for the better part of a month. Call it ‘interesting times,’ but damn, I’ve been keeping busy!
When we sold the house last fall and moved into a suite of rooms, it was with the fervent hope that we could stay put for a while. But it was not to be … a girl needs her kitchen and her ‘things’ around her, and my poor cats were traumatized by the presence of another cat in the residence. it was all too much.
My CMW is always a little bit different than most other people’s. Some go for the conferences, some are all about the music. Still others go for the trade show and the mentoring. But me – I go to people watch.
Like, on the first day I hit the Sheraton, to pick up my pass and get the lay of the land. Some people were looking for their friends, or checking out those who tend to get their names in newspaper bold face … Me, I was in the lobby of the crowded Sheraton Hotel, watching a young male couple dress their teensy tiny pocket puppy in all new Hudson’s Bay swag.
I’ve started a “reminder” page and called it “column ideas”. Not sure what the point was since I never follow it. There’s always something else that catches my eye….or ear. Lately I’ve had the attention span of a gnat. In fact…..no, never mind. It’s been a busy seven days, just not sure what the hell I’ve accomplished short of pissing off CRA and a couple of telemarketers, oh, and changing passwords on damn near everything….one of my lesser brilliant moves. Now I can’t remember how to log into anything. So, jotting down reminders (and new passwords) on scraps of paper. High security, that’s me!
…..and my lovely purple crocuses are out….sprouting in places I don’t remember planting them. I think the squirrels and anything else that’s been rooting around in my gardens have taken the liberty to relocate some of my bulbs. The birds have also been disposing rose hips seeds out their back ends and I have tiny, wild rose bushes sprouting up everywhere. Yes, I realize we had a bit of snow and freezing rain last week but I for one sense that Old Man Winter is done with us….at least until the end of the year. I’ve set up new (for me) outdoor furniture on the deck with the hope I’ll be enjoying my morning coffee out there very soon. Some of the detritus has now been cleared out from under my deck so this weekend it’s time to start the yard cleanup. Fingers crossed Mother Nature goes along with the idea. So far, sun and decent temps are scheduled.
Life’s been pretty good, overall, since I shook the dust of Scarborough off my shoes, and returned to my old Danforth stomping grounds. It’s such a treat to just walk up the street to a good restaurant, or to pop into a local bar to hear friends playing. I no longer have to pack my purse with overnight supplies before heading out to do groceries, or to visit my chums in the downtown core.
Personally it’s been, indubitably, a year of massive, incredible change….a complete turnaround….a 360….that’s two 180’s, and I’m still spinning. It’s been jam packed full of opportunities, challenges, reconnections, new connections, bags of music, loads of dancing, early mornings, late nights, no sleep, G&T’s, club hopping, previews and reviews, outdoor patios, fast food, fine dining, ear-splitting bands, (did I mention dancing), photo shoots, video shoots and writing. Okay, deep breath, plunging in, here we go….the year in review. Really!! ….and WELCOME BACK!
The weeks are just flying by. As a matter of fact, I think I missed a few just by blinking. This summer was one of the best ever in terms of music, mayhem and marvelous people. I have met countless new faces, made some brilliant new friends and reconnected with numerous folks, long thought fallen through the many cracks of life. It’s been a unending discovery, a wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights discovery, of going places and doing things that never, not even in my wildest neurons, would I have even remotely considered. It’s been a mind-bending, life altering, rollercoaster ride and I don’t want to ever get off. It’s called living!
Saturday…..I’m running around the house, back and forth, up and down the stairs, front yard and back yard, dodging in and out of the various rooms. I start one job that segues into another into another into another… It’s one of those days.
Yessirreee….it’s that time once again. My dawgs are barking, my body’s aching and wondering what the hell I’m doing to it. Ahhhh….CMW. It’s been such a busy four days and the party hasn’t even started yet.
Bullseye Records of Canada
Segarini: Don't Believe a Word I Say 