This is an open and unfiltered diary-style journal
on the life of James Robert Smith.
This blog will contain sometimes graphic experiences (both beautiful and ugly),
sometimes stark insight, and all honest and factual documentation of dreams, diet, activity, and thoughts.
Steel Cut Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Irish Breakfast Tea.
Basketball at the Rec.
Scrambled Eggs. Everything Bagel with Vegan Cream Cheese. Potatoes with Avocado. Green Tea.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers.
Banana.
Back home. Making dinner for mom, Ana, and I: Egg Noodles with Chestnuts, Onions, Broccoli, Carrots, Tomatoes, Peas, and Naan Bread. Sharing a couple Mind Field episodes on YouTube, a sort of reality show for science done by that Michael guy from Vsauce.
At the studio – while Ana practices bass and piano I organize things around the store and put together a drum set to sell.
Steel Cut Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Irish Breakfast Tea.
Basketball at the Rec.
Scrambled Eggs. Sourdough Toast with Butter and Jam. Potatoes. Green Tea.
Watching The Punisher (2017).
Teaching lessons at Music Makers.
Off work. I treat mom and I to Panda Express, a new franchise Chinese food joint down the street. Honey Walnut Shrimp with Chow Mein, Broccoli, and Spring Rolls.
Back home. Catching up on emails and business.
Orange.
At the studio working on things – mainly fixing my Kasino Snake Eyes bass amp. All it took was some contact cleaner on the knobs and now no more crackling sounds. It takes more time to unscrew everything than it does to spray the actual cleaner.
Honey Crunch n Oats with Banana, Strawberries, and Almond Milk. Coffee.
Lisa, one of our voice/piano instructors at Music Makers, hired me to sub in on drums for her church band at Prince of Peace Lutheran. Rob Oliver, an old music buddy of mine from back in the day, plays guitar for it. It’s an interesting gig for me – recalling some of these contemporary songs from back in my days of going to church. The electric kit doesn’t have the same feel as the real thing but it’s fun.
Scrambled Eggs. Sourdough Toast with Butter and Jam. Salt n Vinegar Chips with Avocado. Green Tea.
Teaching in-home lessons at the Kuz’s house to make up for missing last Friday.
Then, my hunt for keyboards and guitars continues – OfferUp and Craigslist is a goldmine – driving all over the city and picking up three acoustic guitars and a digital piano.
Back home.
Mom helps make dinner: leftover Red Beans with Rice, Beet Greens, Carrots, and Kale.
Watching The Punisher (2017).
At the studio organizing instruments and other things.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Irish Breakfast Tea.
Teaching afternoon lessons at Music Makers.
Banana.
Sardines. Sourdough Toast with Vegan Cream Cheese. Salt n Vinegar Chips with Avocado. Oolong Tea.
Watching The Punisher (2017).
This weekend I’m making it a point to shop around on Craigslist and OfferUp for keyboards and acoustic guitars to keep on hand at the store for my students.
Back home.
Making dinner: Tofu with Onions, Celery, Kale, Carrots, and Quinoa.
At the studio organizing all the purchases today, a nice Yamaha keyboard and acoustic guitar. Later on, a guy from Chesapeake shows up to trade me. I give him the 7 string Raines guitar in return for an Ibanez Artcore hollow body bass in near pristine condition.
Sharing the last of the Sweet Potato Pie with Ana.
Dad knocks on the guest bedroom door waking us up at 7:27 a.m.
Snacking on a Grapefruit before we say goodbye to dad. Gotta scrape off all the early morning frost from the car windows and warm it up. 35 degrees out. But it’s a beautiful part of the day we rarely get to experience. On the drive to Grimesland to scoop up mom we admire the fall colors on the trees and the farmhouse landscape. Red House Painters, a lofi folk rock band from the early 2000’s, creates the soundtrack.
Stopping by a Hardee’s along the way for Egg Biscuits and Coffee.
Ana takes us the rest of the way home – arriving with just enough time for her to get ready for work at 1 p.m.
Nap time.
Grilled PB&J. Oolong Tea.
Practicing drums and bass at the studio.
Japanese Style Fried Rice with Kale, Peas, and Mixed Vegetables.
Taking mom with me to the rock show at Toast featuring Slow Growl, fellow storage unit mates Broken Beaches, and LADADA. It turns out to be a packed house – everyone crowded up inside the garage hall with the giant monster of a heater blasting above us. All our friends are here – sipping on Rum Apple Ciders.
Ana, mom, and I hit the road in route to Grimesland, North Carolina for Thanksgiving.
Coffee and a Breakfast Bar. Navel Orange.
Upbeat music and upbeat conversation abound. Mom in the passenger seat, Ana in the back, and I at the wheel.
At one point mom spots a dead deer on the side of the road.
“That was a deer and it was dead,” mom explains what we just drove past.
“Oh dear!” Ana adds, entertained by her sudden use of homonym.
After some backtracking from a bathroom stop we eventually make it to Aunt Delores’s house on Mobley’s Bridge Road. Everyone’s here that we usually see around the holidays. The Thanksgiving spread includes Chicken, Collard Greens, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Rolls, Broccoli, Cauliflower, mom’s Sweet Potato Pies, and Delores’s famous Seven Layer Chocolate Cake. Burning off the calories outside with Vikki’s boys and Ashley’s little one throwing the football around and climbing the trees. Spirits are high and we’re thankful. Dad brought the acoustic guitar. I lead us all into song after song.
Ana drives us to Goldsboro following dad. It’s quiet in the house. His wife, Patty, is in Honduras visiting her mom. And the girls that were living here moved to NY.
Sipping on Red Wine. Talking with dad about things – politics – sports – health insurance – life. Meanwhile, the Redskins and Giants football game is on the TV. I don’t normally watch football but it’s nice sharing it with my dad nonetheless.
Deviled Eggs. Sourdough Toast. Sweet Potato Pie.
Ana and I go to bed at an earlier than usual sleep time around midnight.
Steel Cut Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Darjeeling Tea.
Fun times hitting up three grocery stores with Ana!
Scrambled Eggs. Everything Bagel with Vegan Cream Cheese. Salt n Vinegar Chips. Green Tea.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers.
Banana.
Back home. Making dinner with mom: Salmon, Beans, Kale, Carrots, and Brown Rice/Quinoa.
Watching The Punisher (2017).
At the studio teaching an online piano lesson then working on stuff, mainly trying to troubleshoot my bass amp. It’s an old vintage Kasino Snake Eyes from the 70’s. The volume knob is shot.
With Josiah, Jon, and Bobby at Earth Sound Studios with Ladada. Our goal today is to knock down drum tracks for five new songs. Jackie’s engineering everything. It takes a while to get everything set up and miked up. Meanwhile, we do what we do best and jam...
PB&J, Banana, and Muffin break.
As soon as I finish up here I have to immediately head over to Commune in Norfolk to start setting up the stage for the Music Makers Showcase. It’s our first showcase ever. The idea is to take a select number of my students and give them the “gig” experience. They each had to come up with a set of their own songs to perform, covers or originals. Along with my help accompanying the singers on drums, piano, and guitar we were able to truly see what they were capable of. Of course, it can be stressful on my end having to load and transport an entire sound system, memorize song material, and keep everything on beat. But it’s a rewarding experience to see each student come of their own and display their talents for an audience.
I think I ate a really tasty Chic Pea Burger from the kitchen.
The rest of the night involves transporting all the gear back to Music Makers and putting it back together.
Back home finally. Enjoying Popcorn and Pineapple Juice.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Irish Breakfast Tea.
Teaching afternoon lessons at Music Makers.
...
Caleb, one of my 6 year old students, tells me about his evening plans involving a couple friends of his mom coming over. He considers them his girlfriends.
He says, “It’s funny I have girlfriends cause I love girlfriends.”
...
Some include preparation with the students for the showcase tomorrow.
Lunch break: Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Vegan Cream Cheese. Corn Tortilla Chips with Avocado and Tomato. Green Tea.
Practicing with a few other students.
Power napping.
Mom prepares a makeshift dinner of Tuna with Potatoes, Onions, Spinach, and Cucumbers.
Watching The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017).
At the studio packing up all the music gear and organizing the band photos.
Waking up at 11 a.m. The song “Time Of The Season” by The Zombies is running through my head – it was playing in my dream for some reason.
Bowl of Wheat Biscuits with Banana and Almond Milk. Darjeeling Tea.
Business. Catching up on things.
Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Vegan Cream Cheese and Raspberry Jam. Salt n Vinegar Chips. Green Tea.
Teaching all my in-home lessons.
Back home. Mom helps finish up the dinner. Slow Cooked Kidney Beans with Kale, Onions, Celery, and Quinoa.
Ana and I stay cooped up at my computer and watch Atomic Blonde (2017).
Chores and things.
Cynthia is spending the night in Ana’s room. I chill for a little bit. Being entertained by Elvis who seems exceptionally frisky and playful. Meanwhile, I make video game music on the mini synth.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Irish Breakfast Tea.
Teaching afternoon lessons at Music Makers. Afterwards, meeting with Edwin, an old pal from back in the day and fellow musician, about possibly teaching piano here.
Sardines. Toast with Vegan Cream Cheese. Salt n Vinegar Chips with Avocado. Hibiscus Green Tea.
Watching the James Brown documentary.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers. It becomes a long-winded and stressful day.
Back home. Making dinner with mom: Egg Noodles with Peas, Broccoli, Celery, and Naan Bread.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. English Breakfast Tea.
Basketball at the Rec.
Mace, Nest’s cat (or Alex as we used to know her by), has been at the root of some mild drama in the house. This young kitten is very mischievous, so much that my mom had to build a sliding cardboard door to block off her living room. Otherwise trouble would be abound. Overall it’s creating some bad air between Nest and us. We’re currently trying to resolve it but the only solution according to Nest seems to be removing Mace from the house and keeping him over at her friend, Hunter’s house.
Scrambled Eggs. Naan Bread with Vegan Cream Cheese. Potatoes. Hibiscus Green Tea.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers.
Picking up some groceries with mom.
Cooking dinner: Tempeh with Onions, Celery, Broccoli, and Jasmine Rice.
Ana and I do a brunch date at the beach Commune. Eggs Benedict, Cornmeal Waffles, and Coffee. The caffeine in our system keeps us chatty Cathy’s. It’s nice to enjoy some quality time together. It’s rare that I have a day with no prior engagements, band practices, shows, lessons, etc. Nothing.
Back home. Catching up on things.
Running a bunch of errands.
...
Picking up color printed flyers for the showcase in hopes to distribute them around town at other music stores but only Guitar Center is open. I end up buying some mic windscreens and drum mics.
...
Next door at the DAV I score a nice Oster steamer for only $7 and a black task chair for $10. The Asian lady I remember seeing from a summer visit helps me test out the steamer with cups of water.
...
Target for toilet paper and hand soap.
Finally back home organizing things and receipts. Showering. Eating a PB&J Sourdough Croissant with a Navel Orange.
Power napping. I come up with a Geico parody: “15 minutes of napping can save you 15% or more on energy.”
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Irish Breakfast Tea.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers all afternoon.
Banana.
Sardines. Sourdough Toast with Vegan Cream Cheese. Salt n Vinegar Chips with Avocado.
Chores. Sorting through photos from last weekend’s show.
Power napping.
DEJA’s got a gig at South Breach Grill down the street. During the first set I invited Megan, one of my students, to guest sing on “Paranoid”, a song she already knows well. It’s a huge hit – the crowd gives a big applause afterwards.
Leftover Pizza and Salad on the break.
Then, back into the second set. For some reason the whole bar is fixated with the songs we’re playing. Everything jives and thrives.
Back home. Ana and I settle into my bedroom. It’s high time for a little lovemaking.
