Sunday June 30 2019

Waking up at 11:40 a.m.

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, Maple Syrup, and Almond Milk. English Breakfast Tea.

Coaching two bands at MMLIVE rehearsals.

PB&J break with Popped Chips and Coffee.

Back home after 6 p.m.

Catching up on business.

Eating leftover Chicken Pad Thai with Broccoli.

Later on, at Croc’s on 19^th Street. Ladada got asked to perform a set for a WRV employee private party. Gabe Niles is deejaying in between – spinning all the nostalgic tracks! Plugging in our vocal mics is a little unbalanced and we play a little sloppy, mainly cause of the alcohol and the dark lit room. But who cares, we’re doing our thing and getting paid. And the dancing afterwards is infectious. Bobby’s drums stay set up while all the drummers in the bar gravitate to them.

Deep talks with Ana in the bedroom about her negative reactions to comments I make sometimes that can be taken the wrong way. Even if I only mean it in a neutral observant way she gets defensive. We talk about ways we can understand each other more.

Sleep 4 a.m.

Saturday June 29 2019

Waking up at 11:57 a.m. officially. I decided to sleep in cause I never get the chance to very often.

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, Maple Syrup, and Almond Milk. Irish Breakfast Tea.

Teaching a few afternoon lessons at Music Makers.

Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Butter and Jam. Kale. Coffee.

Watching Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers (2018).

Catching up on business.

Setting up the rehearsal spot.

Doing the accounting for the month.

Ana and I hit the road to Kempsville in VB for the highly anticipated house show tonight at Jimmy and Olivia’s. Beforehand, we seek out a place to grab a bite to eat nearby. We stumble upon a local Thai restaurant called Jen’s that blows our palate’s minds.

At the Quevedo house. There’s a keg and plenty of people holed up in every nook and cranny. Dariel Clark, The Lazy Dangers, and Community Witch. Dariel does his fly thing without his usual drummer. After his last song I encourage us to jam/freestyle for a while – hopping on the drums – others join in on percussion. It’s the debut performance of Ana’s full band. I know this project means a lot to Ana and I’m so proud of her. At the last song they’ve got everyone chanting along to the catchy “Da Da Da Da Da Da” and it’s infectious. Anthony’s band continues the great energy – finishing off the show with a piñata full of candy. It feels nice to just be myself and hang with all my friends – no pressure to perform – no responsibility anywhere – just watching and supporting local music – also reminds me of the 1435 and 1623 house parties.

  

Back home. Compiling footage and chilling with Ana and Elvis.

Sleep 4 a.m.

Friday June 28 2019

Waking up at 11:20 a.m.

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Irish Breakfast Tea.

Chores. Affixing foil tape to the dryer hoses so I don’t have to keep tightening them back on.

Leftover Vegan Burger with Tomatoes and Pickles. Potato Chips. Pineapple Juice.

At the CHKD thrift store near Rosemont helping mom load up an entertainment center that we’re going to turn into a wardrobe.

Teaching a few in-home lessons.

I did a series of dumb things while getting groceries at Kroger. Arrive in the parking lot then realizing I forgot the awesome coupons and bags at home – drive back home, retrieve coupons and bags – back to Kroger – ringing up everything at the register – then realizing I forgot my Kroger card in the car – go to car, retrieve Kroger card – then realizing I forgot my wallet at home – drive back home, retrieve wallet – back to Kroger, retrieve groceries – succeed in life! If only they had Apple Pay.

Back home. Mom and I cook dinner: Cod Filets with Fried Yellow Zucchini, Baby Broccoli, and Rice.

Together we clear out a couple corners in the living room where she stays so we can put in the new wardrobe furniture piece. In the process I find a lot of nostalgic things from the past.

The night continues on clearing the path to take the wardrobe through the house. The thing weighs a ton, almost the weight of a piano. I scoop up Anthony and Ana from Trader Joe’s after a work shift and recruit them to figure it out. It’s quite a process but we manage to maneuver it through safely.

Cleaning up and throwing out some stuff. Slowly but surely we will have exhumed this house by the time we actually move out.

Sleep 4:30 a.m.

Thursday June 27 2019

Waking up at 10:30 a.m.

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. English Breakfast Tea.

At The Doctor’s In having my first annual physical. They just relocated into this sunny plaza off Pacific Avenue. Dr. Werwath and his assistant were absolutely great. My blood work showed I was basically healthy – a lot of things were better than average as far as cholesterol levels. The only thing is I need to up my Vitamin D. Also talked about potential hearing loss cause I tend to hear ringing in my ears.

At the car shop off 17^th Street trying to obtain a picture of the engine the company sent that turned out faulty. The whole process has been a racket – it’s not necessarily the shop’s fault. I’ve been 6 weeks without a car! Just get me my new engine and let’s gooooo!

Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Vegan Cream Cheese and Poppy Seeds. Popped Chips. Coffee.

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

Mom makes dinner: Vegetable Fried Rice with Kale and our first homegrown Tomato from the “bucket garden”.

Watching Us (2019).

At Ladada practice with the boys. We got invited to do a last minute show on Sunday so we’re drawing up an hour set list.

Sleep 4 a.m.

Wednesday June 26 2019

Waking up at 10:40 a.m.

Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Irish Breakfast Tea.

Ana and I head to the Great Neck Rec. In the parking lot before going inside she has this moment where she feels overwhelmed with life and mentions how she understands why people kill themselves. As soon as she says this it triggers a heated response from me. I know she struggles daily with anxiety and dealing with things in general. But I try to explain that’s what I’m here for, to help carry the burden.

Scrambled Eggs. Bagel with Butter and Jam. Popped Chips. Coffee.

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

Afterwards, I ride my bike to Aloha Snacks for dinner: The Farmer’s Poke: Salmon, Fried Green Tomatoes, Rice, Cucumber; Coconut Malasada.

Chores.

At the studio changing guitar strings for a customer and organizing keyboard patches.

Popcorn.

Sleep 4 a.m.