A Little Time Off

I took some planned time off for the next few days.  It's the first planned time off since last June, and it feels really good to just let go.  As of late, I've been on a bit of a mission to do things differently.  It's partially a Lent thing, and partially a personal thing.  I've dealt with minor health issues all year, which make me cautious to try and conquer the challenges I've set personally.  Last year I permanently lost 10 pounds. Give or take the day-by-day stuff, I'm averaging 172 instead of 182.

This year I'm going to try losing 5 more as an average weight.  That's just one goal I have among many. 

But back to having time off.  It's always been nice to take some time off to recharge, and it doesn't always turn out to be a recharging time.  But the last one was, and this one is turning out to be the same.  Today I did some casual errands, and it felt like i was 21 again, just casually driving around and getting little things done.  It was healthy and fun.  I got a haircut yesterday and went out into the world and put a smile on this morning.  It's refreshing to not be in a hurry, and be nice to random people. 

On weekends I do a little house cleaning because I find it relaxing.  I am doing laundry and dishes today, and later on I'm going to make my chili dog recipe.  (That'll be a future post for sure, if anyone wants to know how to make the perfect chili dog.) After that, I'm going to do something I heard Robert Jordan did one time while writing a novel.  To prepare for this recording session, I'm going to nail down the details of recording it well. Rumor has it Robert Jordan got a hotel room years ago, and closed everything off so he could concentrate on his work.  With a few days off, I am going to spend some time getting the sound right and preparing everything, so that the recording part is fun and easy.

The type of music I do requires a lot of spontaneity and randomness, and so long as the technical stuff is nailed down, everything else should be a breeze.  In years past, it was as simple as getting a tape in a tape recorder and getting the room right.  To make it sound professional is another thing entirely.  Beck once remarked that recording an album meant that everything has to be perfect.  Anything that sounds a bit off had to be redone. 

Another idea I have about recording a full album and making it sound good comes from none other than Abraham Lincoln. "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." 

So, preparation first, recording later.  I'm not promising Celine Dion quality recording, just plenty of goofy fun that sort of sounds acceptable.  We'll see what happens.

I just want to have some fun musically and go on a creative adventure, in the goofiest, silliest way possible. 

For now, I'm just enjoying the first planned time off I've had in nine months.  And it sure is a relief.