Well, I'm just going to come out and say it.
ARSE.
I know, pretty strong language coming from these parts. But I've got good reason. HarperCollins canned the glossary project on The Reagan Diaries so I don't have a job. As they say in North Yorkshire, it all went a bit tits up. I think the hardest part was that no one called me to tell me the news so when I finally made my call to find out when work would commence, as we were a week past the date I was supposed to hear back from Doug, it was with surprise I ended up hearing from his wife that the project wasn't going to happen and that my services wouldn't be needed. I've only been devastated a few times in my life but this time was one of them for sure. Bloody hell.
So there you have it. Jeff's dad summed the whole experience up thusly:
Good thing you didn't buy the book.
Word.
I took the rest of the day off to be miserable and cry. The boss told me to take the war wagon and just go drive around. I did. I went up to the post office and was greeted by an overwhelming surprise from a dear library patron that made me cry even more in the post office parking lot. That was a really wet Monday, even though the skies were clear.
However, you can't let sorrow linger too long. I mean sure, I'm still bummed about not getting to do a cool job but a number of more cool (though not income producing) things have happened since.
First, there was the ride on the Harley. Jeff borrowed Stix's sportster and brought it back to the house to pick me up. It was beautiful out that late afternoon. We were in jeans and light jackets with our sunglasses on.
We stopped at a bar called The Parlor for pizza and to find out about Jeff having an art show there. Those are some of his paintings in the photo above. The crazy bugger, sometimes he just starts painting and you put it all together and it looks pretty great. On the way there he popped a wheelie, drove on the sidewalk when we missed the turn for the street we needed and nearly got hit by a pick up truck trying to get into the parkinglot. That was in the first 2 minutes!
After that, we went to the east side to see Larry and Holly at the tattoo shop. That got silly as well as you can see. Jeff spied the whiskey bottle under the counter and I was called in to photograph. No booze or tattoos were committed during that photo.
Finally it was off to Third Base to drop off the Harley and pick up the truck. We were cruising sixth street when a guy in an SUV cut us off and Jeff had to lock up the brakes causing us to skid sideways a few lifetimes..or seconds. Good thing he is a really good biker or we'd have been sucking that guy's bumper big time or peeling my skin off the asphalt.
Jeff asked me if I felt a rush of adrenaline during the skid. I said I felt a rush of something and if it didn't dry quickly he'd be feeling it too....
Once safely inside the bar and the keys returned to Stix's mailbox, I had a Guinness and Jeff had his usual and all was right with the world. We drove home, laughing as much as we had on the bike.
I mean really..how long can you stay sad after a ride on the back of a Harley with a crazy person? (I look forward to you all sharing your testimonials...)
As you can see from the photo of Jeff's artwork, there's been a lot of painting gone on down in the bat cave. He's doing some really cool tribal stuff and has even sold a piece already. Right on! I've been concentrating on getting the book manuscripts into electronic form so I haven't been painting but I have my stash of canvas and paint up here in the Fortress of Solitude for when the mood hits. But that may be a while because of the next adventure we undertook.
Because I was a bit down, I decided one evening to look for musical instruments on Craigslist. I figured that Austin being such a music town, I might be able to get a little guitar or mandolin pretty cheap from some starving musician. Bear in mind, I don't actually play either of those instruments but I knew I couldn't have a piano so a stringed instrument seemed sensible.
I didn't have a plan to look for a Dean acoustic/electric resonator guitar but when I saw the ad, it just spoke to me. I looked at the ad several times. There wasn't actually a photo so I went on line to see what it would look like and couldn't believe it. I had talked myself out of it and climbed in bed and that was to be that...except that my brain kept buzzing and I finally got up and sent the seller an email asking if he still had it.
I didn't hear from him for a whole day but he wrote back saying yes, he had it. He had three people interested but no one had come for it yet. I called Jeff and asked if we could mobilize quickly if the guy gave me his address and he said yes. So I called but got Kevin's machine and I left a message. Also emailed, too....and then didn't hear from him that evening. I was bummed. Thought I had lost the opportunity, in which case it wasn't meant to be. (This threatened to be a disturbing pattern taking place....)
But then the next day I got an email saying he had saved it for me and let's meet on Saturday morning. The guy who sold it to me was so cool. He had turned the garage of his amazingly beautiful house into the music room and it was FULL of guitars, amps, mandolins, an upright bass, keyboards, recording gear. He plugged the guitar in and played it. He unplugged it and played it. He plugged it in again and did some slide. I was in heaven. Jeff and Wendy and Kevin's wife sat on the floor chillin' while we talked what little guitar talk I knew. He and his wife are moving to Dallas and he's thinning out his herd just a little. She said she was surprised he was selling of one of his babies!
I've been practicing scales until my fingers hurt. It's going gonna take a while to get my callouses but they are coming.
So there you have it.
Oh...and the giraffe's name is Gerald. He was my other pick-me-up. He's from Guatemala but has a rather posh London accent for some reason. I'm pretty sure he's a homosexual....but I'm cool with that. He's always saying stuff like "Jesus, I love those shoes!" or "You are so fabulous." He reminds of Carson, the blonde guy on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
So I'm now a poor, under-employed writer/artist/musician with a giraffe in Austin, Texas. We're a dime a dozen.
I have no idea what I'm going to find for work. I'll let you know as soon as I know. I really appreciate the kind words and gifts that came my way for Christmas from you lovely folks. The thank you notes are underway. I'm just waiting for the glue to dry..
I hope everyone has had happy holidays. I wish you all great joy and much laughter in the new year. Rest assured, if YOU need a pick-me-up, I can usually provide you with one. Just be in touch.
I'm going to leave y'all with a music clip that I received on Christmas eve from someone very dear to me. I've included the lyrics in case you can't access YouTube... but listen if you can.
Much love from Austin-
xx wren
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITM2AKRT9cI
Better Days
(John Rzeznik, Goo Goo Dolls)
And you asked me what I want this year
And I'll try to make this kind and clear
Just a chance that maybe
We'll find better days
'Cause I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
Designer love and empty things
Just a chance that maybe
We'll find better days
So take these words
And sing out loud
'Cause everyone's forgiven now
'Cause tonight's the night
The world begins again
I need someplace simple where we could live
And something only you could give
And that's faith and trust and peace while we're
Alive
And the one poor child who saved this world
There's 10 million more who probably could
If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them
So take these words
And sing out loud
'Cause everyone's forgiven now
'Cause tonight's the night
The world begins again
I wish everyone was loved tonight
And somehow stop this endless fight
Just a chance that maybe we'll
Find better days
So take these words
And sing out loud
'Cause everyone's forgiven now
'Cause tonight's the night
The world begins again
'Cause tonight's the night
The world begins again....
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