Quick "Get you up to date details"
I moved from Chicago to Oregon on May 6th, 2015. This year.
I came here to help support, grow, and build a theater company from the ground up.
That Company is Oregon Adventure Theatre.
This summer I'm playing Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing and several small parts in Macbeth.
I started coming to Oregon to do shows with this theatre three years ago. Will, the Artistic Director called me on the phone while I was living in Chicago and said,
"Ryan, I want to start an outdoor shakespeare company out here in Oregon. I want it to be lit entirely with campfires and lanterns, I want to use Comedia del Arte' masks, and I want to take people camping. The show this summer is Midsummer Night's Dream. You wana come play the lead role?"
I think its safe to say I'd bought the ticket out in less than a week.
From then until now, I've fallen in love. Fallen in love with the Northwest, with Portland, and with this Theater company.
What we do out here is different, more visceral, and more connected to the earth than anything I've ever been a part of.
We take Shakespeare, focus on the things that make it the most exciting to watch - the things that an audience connects the most with. We take the language, and make it absolutely, 100 % accessible to even the least well read Shakespeare novice.
We perform in peoples back yards all across the Portland area, in High school auditoriums, on farmsteads and in the woods.
I fell in love so hard, that last February, I decided I would move from Chicago, to Portland, to help build this adventure. I left my family, my friends, my career out there - and I came here - to chase a dream.
We open in 7 days.
Come see us on Alberta street opening weekend.
You wont regret it.
Ryan
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 25
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 25
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Alright folks. I've procrastinated and put off this final post for almost a week and a half now. Though it feels like the better part of a month.
The long and the short - is I made it. By the skin of my teeth, I made it.
Total cash from the subway - 719
Total hours playing guitar - 52
Wage per hour 13/ hour
I had to call in on an early paycheck, and not pay as much as I'd planned on a bill, BUT - everything got paid and I made it through.
I learned a lot this last month. It wasn't like the 1st year I did this. I mean - there were similarities, sure - but, it was completely different. Much more of a grind, of a hard, hard grind.
A good friend of mine who was following the blog sent me a text just before I stopped posting back in January, and she said something like
, "Hey - it sounds like your having a rough time - a really rough time - if you wana talk it out - holler"
And it was the first time, seeing her text, that I really looked at what was happening, how I was feeling, and that - yeah - I was not the Ryan I usually am. Not the Ryan I am now. I was caught up in this death grind where all I did was eat, sleep, play guitar in the subway, and go to rehearsal. And I guess I forgot how hard that is. How absolutely challenging.
But what really hit me hard, smack in the face, wasn't that it was hard - or that I was over worked and exhausted. It was that - I'm pretty tired of playing in the subway. That's never happened before. Ever. In all the years I've been doing it. Its a hard hard job playing for a crowd composed mostly of people who barely know you're there. And you find the rare gems - you pull out the rare stories, and they're wonderful - but the hour to hour, the minute to minute of it - It's a hard hard thing.
Now - don't get me wrong - I'm not done busking. haha. That's just crazy talk. But the idea of making it my main source of income - That - just can't happen anymore. Because it ate me last month. It opened wide, and gobbled me down.
SO - Moving forward -
this month has a little different feel to it.
I'm working on three different projects -
James and the Giant Peach with Filament Theatre - Opening February 11th
Tounges - with a mystery director in an abandoned space - Opens in March
Spoon River Anthology - Oakton Community College - Music Directing - rehearsals start at the end of February.
As well as various gigs at City News, Underground Wonderbar and The Store
I'm learning buckets of music for Spoon River and I'll be posting em up on here as well as Soundcloud and some You Tube stuff.
So - There's gona be alot of music this month. Buckets of it. :)
Happy February yall.
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Alright folks. I've procrastinated and put off this final post for almost a week and a half now. Though it feels like the better part of a month.
The long and the short - is I made it. By the skin of my teeth, I made it.
Total cash from the subway - 719
Total hours playing guitar - 52
Wage per hour 13/ hour
I had to call in on an early paycheck, and not pay as much as I'd planned on a bill, BUT - everything got paid and I made it through.
I learned a lot this last month. It wasn't like the 1st year I did this. I mean - there were similarities, sure - but, it was completely different. Much more of a grind, of a hard, hard grind.
A good friend of mine who was following the blog sent me a text just before I stopped posting back in January, and she said something like
, "Hey - it sounds like your having a rough time - a really rough time - if you wana talk it out - holler"
And it was the first time, seeing her text, that I really looked at what was happening, how I was feeling, and that - yeah - I was not the Ryan I usually am. Not the Ryan I am now. I was caught up in this death grind where all I did was eat, sleep, play guitar in the subway, and go to rehearsal. And I guess I forgot how hard that is. How absolutely challenging.
But what really hit me hard, smack in the face, wasn't that it was hard - or that I was over worked and exhausted. It was that - I'm pretty tired of playing in the subway. That's never happened before. Ever. In all the years I've been doing it. Its a hard hard job playing for a crowd composed mostly of people who barely know you're there. And you find the rare gems - you pull out the rare stories, and they're wonderful - but the hour to hour, the minute to minute of it - It's a hard hard thing.
Now - don't get me wrong - I'm not done busking. haha. That's just crazy talk. But the idea of making it my main source of income - That - just can't happen anymore. Because it ate me last month. It opened wide, and gobbled me down.
SO - Moving forward -
this month has a little different feel to it.
I'm working on three different projects -
James and the Giant Peach with Filament Theatre - Opening February 11th
Tounges - with a mystery director in an abandoned space - Opens in March
Spoon River Anthology - Oakton Community College - Music Directing - rehearsals start at the end of February.
As well as various gigs at City News, Underground Wonderbar and The Store
I'm learning buckets of music for Spoon River and I'll be posting em up on here as well as Soundcloud and some You Tube stuff.
So - There's gona be alot of music this month. Buckets of it. :)
Happy February yall.
Ryan
Friday, January 30, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 24
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 24
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
1/26/15 29.00
1/27/15 34.00
1/28/15 00.00
1/29/15 44.00
Below Goal: 176
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 21
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual:
TIME:
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 37, Low 21, Current 35, feels like 23
The difference between this winter and last winter, is so, insanely huge.
We're coming up on the last stretch of this race. Its going to be more than 25 days, but I basically have 3, maybe 4 days of playing left. and if I make 50, or close to 50 on each of them, with some finite finagling, bills will be paid, and I will rejoice in not having to go downtown for a good bit of time after February 5th.
To the Subway Batman!
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
1/26/15 29.00
1/27/15 34.00
1/28/15 00.00
1/29/15 44.00
Below Goal: 176
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 21
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual:
TIME:
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 37, Low 21, Current 35, feels like 23
The difference between this winter and last winter, is so, insanely huge.
We're coming up on the last stretch of this race. Its going to be more than 25 days, but I basically have 3, maybe 4 days of playing left. and if I make 50, or close to 50 on each of them, with some finite finagling, bills will be paid, and I will rejoice in not having to go downtown for a good bit of time after February 5th.
To the Subway Batman!
Ryan
Thursday, January 29, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 23
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 23
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
1/26/15 29.00
1/27/15 34.00
1/28/15 00.00
1/29/15 44.00
Below Goal: 176
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 21
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 44
TIME: 5
WHERE: Clark/Division, Monroe Red, Monroe Blue, Lasalle
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 37, Low 21, Current 35, feels like 23
The difference between this winter and last winter, is so, insanely huge.
And I'm off! I'm finishing a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch ( The best cereal on the continental and sub continental regions of planet Earth) and I'm headed out.
I'm supposed to meet this fella at Jackson Blue to get a copy of something he filmed weeks back. We'll see if it pans out.
Talk to yall later tonight!
Ryan
UPDATE
Today was a marathon. Not only did I play for the entire 5 hours, but I was kicked out of every station I went to besides Lasalle. I've never been kicked from so many stations in a day.
SO I realized I haven't given yall a play-by-play of a day in the subway for a long time and today is a great day for that. So here goes.
I left at 10:15 - which is remarkable for me and earlier than I've left any other day this month.
I get off at lake, use the restroom in the Daley Center, walk to Washington. Jose - the blind dude who plays killer guitar riffs - is there. He tells me its locked up. Kevin is coming and then the fellas who sing accapella after him.
So I roll to Jackson Blue - Mohammed is leaving, and Ozzy is setting up, so I head to Clark/Lake, which I've never been to.
I play at Clark/Lake for about 30 minutes, make 7 dollars, and the K9 dude shows up. I pack it all up the second I see him, and he doesn't take my licence away (Cause I'm on the 3rd strike with this one dude. One more time, and he takes it, and I'm out another 15 bucks for another one).
So, I wait 8 minutes for the southbound train and check in at Jackson Red - Accapella dudes are there - They tell me Ron is coming at 2 and I should check back at 2 - but I know ron - and he's gona sing past 5, which is when i'm leaving, so its not worth my time.
Its 12:30 now and I'm at Monroe Red - I make really great money for an hour and 15 minutes. prolly 20ish dollars, and then I get booted by a CTA worker, who's superior is coming down on him for letting me play and not kicking me earlier.
Off to Monroe blue - its 2:00 now. I make 8 dollars.
Its 3 now. I make 7 dollars.
At 3:45, a dude, who hangs around between Monroe Blue and Jackson and may or may not be homeless, tells me he's going to Mcdonalds and asks me if I want anything (It's ok - I know him. I see him all the time. We talk, we laugh, he discretely asks folks for change, I ask folks for dollars in exchange for my lofty notes. We're pals.) I give him 1.20 and he brings me a McChicken - which - is absolutely glorious, and only makes me feel sick for about 30 minutes.
4:07 I'm booted from Monroe Blue - a First.
At this point I'm basically sounding like Ralphie's dad in a Christmas Story, talking under my breath. Who know's what I said, but I'm assuredly going to hell for it.
I roll to Lasalle, make 7 dollars thanks to a nice boy, who, I really think saw how upset I was ( Because I wasn't playing music. I was just standing there with my Ukitar staring at the wall wondering how on earth I was going to motivate myself to play for another 30 minutes - And - at the same time, deciding if I should throw my Uke at the wall) And I call it quits at 4:45 because I can't take the feeling of all this stuff hanging off my body any longer.
I get on the train with a backpack, a guitar, and a ukulele, I eat my sandwich and chips. I finish reading Zenocide, I get to rehearsal an hour early, I sit in the greenroom for an hour, getting rid of all the frustration of the day, get out of rehearsal at 10:30, ride the bus home, pour a cup of throat coat and a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch, write a blog post, give Phil his meds, Prolly play some silly game for 20 minutes - turn on my electric blanket to 4 - and call it a good, hard, very long day.
OH and I GOT that Video from Smokey while at Monroe Blue - But its in a wierd format - so I don't know how to upload it yet.
AND THAT WAS MY DAY!
It was long, hard, not very glorious, and I didn't even make a full 50 dollars, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I came very close, and I played for 5 hours. I'm gona call that good folks. Good as good.
Alright - Night time.
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
1/26/15 29.00
1/27/15 34.00
1/28/15 00.00
1/29/15 44.00
Below Goal: 176
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 21
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 44
TIME: 5
WHERE: Clark/Division, Monroe Red, Monroe Blue, Lasalle
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 37, Low 21, Current 35, feels like 23
The difference between this winter and last winter, is so, insanely huge.
And I'm off! I'm finishing a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch ( The best cereal on the continental and sub continental regions of planet Earth) and I'm headed out.
I'm supposed to meet this fella at Jackson Blue to get a copy of something he filmed weeks back. We'll see if it pans out.
Talk to yall later tonight!
Ryan
UPDATE
Today was a marathon. Not only did I play for the entire 5 hours, but I was kicked out of every station I went to besides Lasalle. I've never been kicked from so many stations in a day.
SO I realized I haven't given yall a play-by-play of a day in the subway for a long time and today is a great day for that. So here goes.
I left at 10:15 - which is remarkable for me and earlier than I've left any other day this month.
I get off at lake, use the restroom in the Daley Center, walk to Washington. Jose - the blind dude who plays killer guitar riffs - is there. He tells me its locked up. Kevin is coming and then the fellas who sing accapella after him.
So I roll to Jackson Blue - Mohammed is leaving, and Ozzy is setting up, so I head to Clark/Lake, which I've never been to.
I play at Clark/Lake for about 30 minutes, make 7 dollars, and the K9 dude shows up. I pack it all up the second I see him, and he doesn't take my licence away (Cause I'm on the 3rd strike with this one dude. One more time, and he takes it, and I'm out another 15 bucks for another one).
So, I wait 8 minutes for the southbound train and check in at Jackson Red - Accapella dudes are there - They tell me Ron is coming at 2 and I should check back at 2 - but I know ron - and he's gona sing past 5, which is when i'm leaving, so its not worth my time.
Its 12:30 now and I'm at Monroe Red - I make really great money for an hour and 15 minutes. prolly 20ish dollars, and then I get booted by a CTA worker, who's superior is coming down on him for letting me play and not kicking me earlier.
Off to Monroe blue - its 2:00 now. I make 8 dollars.
Its 3 now. I make 7 dollars.
At 3:45, a dude, who hangs around between Monroe Blue and Jackson and may or may not be homeless, tells me he's going to Mcdonalds and asks me if I want anything (It's ok - I know him. I see him all the time. We talk, we laugh, he discretely asks folks for change, I ask folks for dollars in exchange for my lofty notes. We're pals.) I give him 1.20 and he brings me a McChicken - which - is absolutely glorious, and only makes me feel sick for about 30 minutes.
4:07 I'm booted from Monroe Blue - a First.
At this point I'm basically sounding like Ralphie's dad in a Christmas Story, talking under my breath. Who know's what I said, but I'm assuredly going to hell for it.
I roll to Lasalle, make 7 dollars thanks to a nice boy, who, I really think saw how upset I was ( Because I wasn't playing music. I was just standing there with my Ukitar staring at the wall wondering how on earth I was going to motivate myself to play for another 30 minutes - And - at the same time, deciding if I should throw my Uke at the wall) And I call it quits at 4:45 because I can't take the feeling of all this stuff hanging off my body any longer.
I get on the train with a backpack, a guitar, and a ukulele, I eat my sandwich and chips. I finish reading Zenocide, I get to rehearsal an hour early, I sit in the greenroom for an hour, getting rid of all the frustration of the day, get out of rehearsal at 10:30, ride the bus home, pour a cup of throat coat and a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch, write a blog post, give Phil his meds, Prolly play some silly game for 20 minutes - turn on my electric blanket to 4 - and call it a good, hard, very long day.
OH and I GOT that Video from Smokey while at Monroe Blue - But its in a wierd format - so I don't know how to upload it yet.
AND THAT WAS MY DAY!
It was long, hard, not very glorious, and I didn't even make a full 50 dollars, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I came very close, and I played for 5 hours. I'm gona call that good folks. Good as good.
Alright - Night time.
Ryan
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 22
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 22
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
1/26/15 29.00
1/27/15 34.00
1/28/15 00.00
Below Goal: 170
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 21
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 0
TIME: 0
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 31, Low 24, Current 30, feels like 21
Took a break today.
Unplanned break.
Not in the plans.
No call.
No show.
I feel insanely guilty about it.
It was 11 am.
Breakfast was finished
Pals had left
My body said
"No, Absolutely no."
And I stayed home.
And then I wrote a poem about it.
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
1/26/15 29.00
1/27/15 34.00
1/28/15 00.00
Below Goal: 170
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 21
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 0
TIME: 0
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 31, Low 24, Current 30, feels like 21
Took a break today.
Unplanned break.
Not in the plans.
No call.
No show.
I feel insanely guilty about it.
It was 11 am.
Breakfast was finished
Pals had left
My body said
"No, Absolutely no."
And I stayed home.
And then I wrote a poem about it.
Ryan
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 21
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 21
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
1/26/15 29.00
1/27/15 34.00
Below Goal: 120
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 16
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 34
TIME: 2.5
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 1
Temp: High 31, Low 24, Current 30, feels like 21 - Clear
Father winter is back, showing his Gnarly little head.
This is - most definitely, my favorite breakfast on the planet.
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
1/26/15 29.00
1/27/15 34.00
Below Goal: 120
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 16
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 34
TIME: 2.5
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 1
Temp: High 31, Low 24, Current 30, feels like 21 - Clear
Father winter is back, showing his Gnarly little head.
This is - most definitely, my favorite breakfast on the planet.
The glass of very, very suspect cloudy yellow, is, infact.... Emergen - C :)
French toast has always been one of my favorite foods. However, its something that falls off my radar at times - And I forget how easy it is to make. I make some kind of eggs every morning - and all you have to do, is dip the bread in the eggs before you cook em. What? Holy biscuits. How could I forget how easy that is?
So I've been making up for lost time and have eaten french toast 6 out of 7 days this week. :)
Would you believe it if I told you I'm on target to leave ON TIME and get a FULL 5 hour day in? Or very close to on time. I still have to give Phil his anti-biotics and that can take some serious time some mornings - BUT - I'm very very close.
Wait - no - Now I'm behind. 15 minutes has gone by because I got distracted picking out The Water is Wide on Nathan Scheetz guitar.
THIS is what Happens! FOCUS WESTWOOD.
So, I'm guessing, that by the end of today, I'll have "Hey Soul Sister" down pretty solid. Cause Oh Susannah is only about 1:45, and lord knows I'm gona get bored of that pretty quick. :)
ALRIGHT!
I'm off.
Have a great day folks. Stay warm. And thank ht heavens you're not in New York today with their 2 feet of snow. :)
Ryan
EDIT.
Such big plans we have. 5 hours plans, 6 hour plans. 2.5 hour plans.
Today was a fairly regular day. But I realized today that my plan is flawed. There is no way, that I can leave at 11, and play for 5 hours straight, and leave at 5. There's just no way. There's time gone from checking in at spots, and time gone from inevitable bathroom breaks.
I feel like this month has been more about time than anything else. Last year it was about the cold, and every dollar - this year its about time. I think - but who knows really :)
I talked with Will Steel into the wee hours of the morning tonight about Oregon Adventure Theatre, what's next, and what the plans are for this summer. Macbeth, and Much Ado About Nothing - In rep, in backyards, across Portland, through September. Some things just sound perfect. Don't they?
Folks - Its been a hard day. A day where you look back and think - I've had it with this day job. It was great for a bit, but - I'm very very over it. And its not even the playing the guitar and singing. Its the Carrying all the coats, and the guitar, and the uke, and my backpack, down to the subway, to all the stops checking in. Then to rehearsal, on all the buses. Then home, on the buses and trains.
I feel like a crazy bag lady with all my gear. There's too much to sit comfortably in 1 seat. especially if I decide to buy groceries on the way home like I did tonight. Then there's so much stuff, that I start getting angry at it - Like its all this stuff's fault I'm in a bad mood.
I forgot how hard it was. Playing this much. And in the long run and the large scheme of it all, its not ACTUALLY that much. Some jobs are hard. Coal miners. They have hard jobs. This is cake. But we all need to complain once in a while right? It feels very out of character. I don't understand it.
But - regardless of it all. Tomorrow, I will eat breakfast with Ashley Spessard, I will write a blog post, I will give Phil his Anti-Biotics, I will go to the subway and play for 3-5 hours, I will go to rehearsal and pretend to be a Scottish grasshopper, I will come home, give Phil his anti-biotics, write a blog post, do something ridiculous for at least 15 minutes - and curl up in my electric blanket and let it whisper me to sleep.
Love - from Ryan and the very upset hedgehog on his lap
- Good night
EDIT.
Such big plans we have. 5 hours plans, 6 hour plans. 2.5 hour plans.
Today was a fairly regular day. But I realized today that my plan is flawed. There is no way, that I can leave at 11, and play for 5 hours straight, and leave at 5. There's just no way. There's time gone from checking in at spots, and time gone from inevitable bathroom breaks.
I feel like this month has been more about time than anything else. Last year it was about the cold, and every dollar - this year its about time. I think - but who knows really :)
I talked with Will Steel into the wee hours of the morning tonight about Oregon Adventure Theatre, what's next, and what the plans are for this summer. Macbeth, and Much Ado About Nothing - In rep, in backyards, across Portland, through September. Some things just sound perfect. Don't they?
Folks - Its been a hard day. A day where you look back and think - I've had it with this day job. It was great for a bit, but - I'm very very over it. And its not even the playing the guitar and singing. Its the Carrying all the coats, and the guitar, and the uke, and my backpack, down to the subway, to all the stops checking in. Then to rehearsal, on all the buses. Then home, on the buses and trains.
I feel like a crazy bag lady with all my gear. There's too much to sit comfortably in 1 seat. especially if I decide to buy groceries on the way home like I did tonight. Then there's so much stuff, that I start getting angry at it - Like its all this stuff's fault I'm in a bad mood.
I forgot how hard it was. Playing this much. And in the long run and the large scheme of it all, its not ACTUALLY that much. Some jobs are hard. Coal miners. They have hard jobs. This is cake. But we all need to complain once in a while right? It feels very out of character. I don't understand it.
But - regardless of it all. Tomorrow, I will eat breakfast with Ashley Spessard, I will write a blog post, I will give Phil his Anti-Biotics, I will go to the subway and play for 3-5 hours, I will go to rehearsal and pretend to be a Scottish grasshopper, I will come home, give Phil his anti-biotics, write a blog post, do something ridiculous for at least 15 minutes - and curl up in my electric blanket and let it whisper me to sleep.
Love - from Ryan and the very upset hedgehog on his lap
- Good night
Monday, January 26, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 20
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 20
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
1/26/15 29.00
Below Goal: 94
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 14
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 29
TIME: 2
WHERE: Chicago, Jackson
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 29, Low 28, Current 26, feels like 21 - Light Snow
Father winter is back, showing his Gnarly little head.
Today has been one of those days where you have enormous plans. Huge plans. And then they slip away from you 10 minutes at a time.
Nut however frustrating the morning was, I have something very special, and very important to show you all.
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
1/26/15 29.00
Below Goal: 94
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 14
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 29
TIME: 2
WHERE: Chicago, Jackson
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 29, Low 28, Current 26, feels like 21 - Light Snow
Father winter is back, showing his Gnarly little head.
Today has been one of those days where you have enormous plans. Huge plans. And then they slip away from you 10 minutes at a time.
Nut however frustrating the morning was, I have something very special, and very important to show you all.
THE UKITAR
You know whats holding it together? Picture hanging velcro. 4 strips. 4.29 at Sears. It holds 16 lbs of weight. Which means I can pick the whole thing up by the Ukulele, and its solid.
My huge plans for the day, were to leave around 1, play for 3 or 4 hours at Monroe, take a break, and head to grand or Chicago at 6 with Mo and play for another 3 hours. But its 3 PM, and I'm just leaving, which is problematic. But it is what it is.
I can barely play the Uke right now. I know 4 chords. C, G, Am, and F. And I know about 2/3s of "Oh Sussanna" and "Hey Soul Sister". The real joy, and success of the Ukitar is not that it will undoubtedly make me more money just for having it, or that eventually, I'll be able to do really crazy, fun things like switching back and forth. No - The real awesome power of this new instrument - Is that It will force me to learn how to play the Uke, because it will be with me every day. And that's a cool cool thing.
So I'm off. Mo and I may meet up tonight with the fellow that took that amazing photo of us at City News and shoot some video - but it also may fall through because We haven't locked down a place to do it. I'll keep you updated.
Ryan
So the Ukitar is a hit. :)
I opened up my case at Chicago and made 9 dollars right off the bat playing Oh Susannah. Brilliant.
I now know all the lyrics to that song - See - Progress. :)
Mo and I met up at Jackson and filmed some music with Bill Motchan, the guy from City News who took that incredible photo last Saturday. He said He'd get the footage up on YouTube within the week - so I just can't wait for that.
I've started working on learning the music for my next show, Spoon River Anthology, and its all very very lovely - The kind of thing that just gets stuck in your head all day long.
I'm music directing Spoon River - Its going up at Oakton Community College in April.
Which, is something I have zero experience in. I mean none. I don't even think I've taught a single person, in my life, an entire song. But the woman who's directing it knows me and said, "You can just learn the music, and then teach it to these kids like you're in a jam session with them. Just learn the melody and a harmony or two, and sing it, and have em sing it back."
What?
But I'm going to do it. I'm about as nervous as nervous gets, because I have to convince these kids - and the musicians we hire - that I know something about music. - Maybe not though - Maybe I just tell em all up front that its going to be a fun lil roller coaster and to keep their arms and legs inside the ride at all times for their own safty.
At any rate
Here's my first take on the first song of the show.
Thu thu thu thu thu thu Thats all folks!
Ryan
So the Ukitar is a hit. :)
I opened up my case at Chicago and made 9 dollars right off the bat playing Oh Susannah. Brilliant.
I now know all the lyrics to that song - See - Progress. :)
Mo and I met up at Jackson and filmed some music with Bill Motchan, the guy from City News who took that incredible photo last Saturday. He said He'd get the footage up on YouTube within the week - so I just can't wait for that.
I've started working on learning the music for my next show, Spoon River Anthology, and its all very very lovely - The kind of thing that just gets stuck in your head all day long.
I'm music directing Spoon River - Its going up at Oakton Community College in April.
Which, is something I have zero experience in. I mean none. I don't even think I've taught a single person, in my life, an entire song. But the woman who's directing it knows me and said, "You can just learn the music, and then teach it to these kids like you're in a jam session with them. Just learn the melody and a harmony or two, and sing it, and have em sing it back."
What?
But I'm going to do it. I'm about as nervous as nervous gets, because I have to convince these kids - and the musicians we hire - that I know something about music. - Maybe not though - Maybe I just tell em all up front that its going to be a fun lil roller coaster and to keep their arms and legs inside the ride at all times for their own safty.
At any rate
Here's my first take on the first song of the show.
Thu thu thu thu thu thu Thats all folks!
Ryan
Sunday, January 25, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 19
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 19
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
Below Goal: 73
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 11
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual:
TIME:
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 36, Low 24, Current 33, feels like 31
Its snowing again! I feel like its been weeks!
Man Seeing those zeros up there is hard.
This is one of those days where I can't work. Its not really possible because of rehearsals, and train schedules. I'm leaving in 10 minutes for rehearsal, and by the time I could get to the subway it would be 8 pm. On a Sunday, which is just not worth it. Because I could get home at 7, 730 and get a lot of things done that still need done.
So, I'm working a double tomorrow, on my day off from rehearsals in an attempt to make up for today. Its gona be rough and hard, but hopefully I'll be playing with Mo the second half, and that will help push me along.
To rehearsal ladies and gentlemen.
Hopfully I'll have a picture of a new instrument I'm creating called the UKITAR for you all later today................
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
1/25/15 00.00
Below Goal: 73
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 11
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual:
TIME:
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 36, Low 24, Current 33, feels like 31
Its snowing again! I feel like its been weeks!
Man Seeing those zeros up there is hard.
This is one of those days where I can't work. Its not really possible because of rehearsals, and train schedules. I'm leaving in 10 minutes for rehearsal, and by the time I could get to the subway it would be 8 pm. On a Sunday, which is just not worth it. Because I could get home at 7, 730 and get a lot of things done that still need done.
So, I'm working a double tomorrow, on my day off from rehearsals in an attempt to make up for today. Its gona be rough and hard, but hopefully I'll be playing with Mo the second half, and that will help push me along.
To rehearsal ladies and gentlemen.
Hopfully I'll have a picture of a new instrument I'm creating called the UKITAR for you all later today................
Ryan
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 18
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 18
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
Below Goal: 23
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 6
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 56
TIME: 2
WHERE: City News Cafe
CD's Sold: 5
Temp: High 37, Low 32, Current 35, feels like 29
The weather makes no difference because I was INSIDE~
So Today I went to City News Cafe in Portage Park to play with Mo Hubbard for two hours.
I keep on finishing posts, and then forgetting to post them. Sorry pals.
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
1/24/15 56.00
Below Goal: 23
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 6
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 56
TIME: 2
WHERE: City News Cafe
CD's Sold: 5
Temp: High 37, Low 32, Current 35, feels like 29
The weather makes no difference because I was INSIDE~
So Today I went to City News Cafe in Portage Park to play with Mo Hubbard for two hours.
- Check out this amazing photo that a fella named Bill took -
Isn't that just - the sexiest photo on the planet?
While you're ogling over how good we look, check out our video on YouTube
Mo and I got a fee of 50 bucks for the show, and then made 62 bucks in CD sales and tips - which, for two hours, on a slow Saturday at City news, I thought was pretty darn good.
Technically we made 63 in tips. So we ripped the dollar in half.
You see, Mo said, if you take at least 51% of a dollar bill to a bank, they will treat it as legal tender. So I said I was going to take about 65% of it, and take it to the bank Monday. We'll see what happens.
Ryan
I keep on finishing posts, and then forgetting to post them. Sorry pals.
Friday, January 23, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 17
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 17
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
Below Goal: 23
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 6
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 85
TIME: 3
WHERE: Grand
CD's Sold: 1
Temp: High 34, Low 30, Current 33, feels like 22
These are basically the same day. 3 days in a row now. Amazing.
What a lovely afternoon and morning this has been.
Its a half day off because I don't have rehearsal tonight, which means I get to have a night shift in the subway and hopefully make the big buckaroos :)
Today I'm doing the unthinkable. I've been talking about doing it for months and months Maybe even as far back as June. But it's such a struggle to carry everything I've never followed through with it.
In the Mercury Theatre's production of Barnum 2 summers back, I learned how to stilt walk.
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
1/23/15 85.00
Below Goal: 23
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 6
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 85
TIME: 3
WHERE: Grand
CD's Sold: 1
Temp: High 34, Low 30, Current 33, feels like 22
These are basically the same day. 3 days in a row now. Amazing.
What a lovely afternoon and morning this has been.
Its a half day off because I don't have rehearsal tonight, which means I get to have a night shift in the subway and hopefully make the big buckaroos :)
Today I'm doing the unthinkable. I've been talking about doing it for months and months Maybe even as far back as June. But it's such a struggle to carry everything I've never followed through with it.
In the Mercury Theatre's production of Barnum 2 summers back, I learned how to stilt walk.
Fancy right?
Well, today, finally - after months and months of inaction - I'm going to take them to the subway, and play guitar, on stilts, on the platform. I don't actually know if I'll make more money. We'll see. People will either drop whole purses, or nothing at all, because they're afraid of the crazy dude on stilts.
Unfortunately, I don't have the red and white pants. But I do have a pair of black ones that will do nicely.
Now - people have said,
"Aren't you afraid someone will push you over?"
and
"Aren't you afraid someone will steal your money and you wont be able to chase them down?"
and
"Aren't you afraid of falling into the train?"
and the infamous -
"Dude. You're gona die."
Thank you Laura Tatar. For the Confidence :) :) :) :) :) :)
The answer - is no I'm not, and I'm not going to die. This is either me being very ignorant - very naive - or truly optimistic to a fault. But I'm confident, that nothing terrible is going to happen.
People - are generally good people. No one is going to push me over. Besides maybe the drunk bro from DePaul with all of his friends. But I'm confident even HE has a little good in his soul. :)
I'm hoping to hop onto either Grand or Chicago. I've scouted both platforms and have strategies to get them on and off safely.
So - If you don't have a post from me by midnight tonight, everyone's fears will have come to glorious fruition, and I will have died by train in the subway - a true buskers death.
Cheers - :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
Ryan
EDIT:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not. Dead.
Things I learned today
- People Love Seeing People On Stilts
- The CTA K9 unit leaves at 6, not 5 pm
- Before I do this again, I should add a fair amount of friction to the bottom of my stilts.
- Standing on stilts for 3 hours, is a very, very long time.
I got to grand at 5, and was up on stilts and playing by 5:15, at 5:20 - a K9 unit rolled up, and kicked me out. Now - I thought I had it pinned down. I'd never, ever seen them past 5 - so it must be 6 when they actually leave.
SO I've carted my stilts all the way downtown. I've put them on, started playing a song, and I'm out of them again before I've even finished it. And this is where I began my stakeout. I could not admit defeat on the day I finally brought my stilts down. So I sat there, on the bench at Grand for 40 minutes until 6 o'clock - and then set up again.
There were 3 different reactions that people gave tonight.
1 - The "Oh my god there's a 9 foot tall man standing there, I'm very very surprised" look
2 - The "Whoa - props dude. I'm very impressed, and can't figure out why I can't stop smiling." look
3 - The "I work downtown - I have see everything - and this man on stilts is not nearly wild enough to even deserve a look." Look.
It was pretty wild. Being noticed. at least 70% of the people usually shuffle by without glancing up from thier book or "I'm on my way home don't bother me gaze". But it was like 85% of people were double taking, telling thier friends, and just smiling - all of the smiles.
Snapchats - I must have been the most popular snapchat event in Chicago tonight. I cannot tell you how many people I saw snapchatting, or asked to snapchat me.
Photos - so - many photos. With people, without people.
And people talking. People would walked by and I'd shoot a "What's up man" their way and they'd man-giggle while gazing sidelong at me and chirp out a "nothin man" hahah.
People were nervous - but in a good way. The kind of nervous you get when you don't know whats going to happen, but you know its probably going to be something good.
One lady dropped a dollar and said, "This is just for the stilts man. You've got some guts"
The chief stories of the night, however - are people trying to make change and or find CD's in my case - and missing their trains - because I can't reach it.
Peter and Cara - Peter rolls up first, there's no one in the stop yet, is all smiles, Looked like he'd just gotten off work. He drops me a few dollars, sits on the bench and say's play me a tune man. :) I think I played Charlotte Mae. The stop is filling up, and Cara comes over and starts talking with us, laughing about Niel Young getting played on stilts. The train arrives and I tell em they can each have a CD, but its under my guitar case so they'd have to get it. Cause I'm on stilts. But I mis-spoke - they were in my guitar case. So while i stilt on over to the train to try and hold the door open, they are looking UNDER my case for CD's. I look back, see them failing beautifully, and look down the train imagining the look on the conductors face when he sees a 9 foot man half way in the car. The doors close, and we're left alone. Sorry cats. Missed your train scrambling for CDs hahah.
Eventually, I explained they were inside the case and they found em. They hung out and left on the next train. Nice folks.
Funny thing is, damn near the same thing happened again with Cory and Carolyn. I believe I gave the same bad directions trying to get them to find the CD. but even when they got in the case, they were pushing around like 50 singles trying to find it and the train was gone. They were happy to stay and listen though.
These are the things I didn't plan for. The things I didn't think about.
Matt - From Georgia - Wants to break a 20 to buy a CD, but I'm out, and so he just starts grabbing ones and counting them out from my case, But the train is coming, hes only at 10, starts panicking, and grabs a small handful, leaving the 20 and says,
"I'm positive I'm leaving you at least 2 more dollars than I'm taking" ha. ha. ha. ohhhh. hah.
Who knows. It looked like about 16 or 17 to me. Maybe het came out on top - either way it was hilarious.
All in all? The stilts are a mega success. They'll be brilliant for when I play in front of the Disney Store on Michigan Ave in the summer time, though not as incredible as when I finally master playing the Uke while singing Oh Susannah, while riding a unicycle. I still think that's pretty much the top. But there's only so many hours in the day.
Finally - I found, Quite possibly, the largest possum in the world on my porch when I got home.
He was running across the lawn, and then thought it was a great Idea to hide, at my front door. Which is an entryway, and about 8 feet of dead end. So its this Possum stand off. And he's not moving. He just keeps hiding behind this damn bucket thats up there. And I try everything. I walk out of sight for a few minutes. I slowly approach the door. I walk up the opposite side of the steps. I stand WAY back in the street so he can scamper off. Nothing.
So I finally walk AROUND the building, go in the back door, walk down the front, and he is STILL there. So I got back upstairs, grab my camera, open the door, and chase the fella behind a bush before I FINALLY get a picture. And you can't see it here - but He's a mammoth. He's about as wide as a BASKETBALL, and 2 feet long. He's huge. He could eat both our cats. He could fit them inside himself.
Huge.
At anyrate - a solid solid night.
For all you folks that read this mammoth post - Here is the reward -
EDIT:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not. Dead.
Things I learned today
- People Love Seeing People On Stilts
- The CTA K9 unit leaves at 6, not 5 pm
- Before I do this again, I should add a fair amount of friction to the bottom of my stilts.
- Standing on stilts for 3 hours, is a very, very long time.
I got to grand at 5, and was up on stilts and playing by 5:15, at 5:20 - a K9 unit rolled up, and kicked me out. Now - I thought I had it pinned down. I'd never, ever seen them past 5 - so it must be 6 when they actually leave.
SO I've carted my stilts all the way downtown. I've put them on, started playing a song, and I'm out of them again before I've even finished it. And this is where I began my stakeout. I could not admit defeat on the day I finally brought my stilts down. So I sat there, on the bench at Grand for 40 minutes until 6 o'clock - and then set up again.
There were 3 different reactions that people gave tonight.
1 - The "Oh my god there's a 9 foot tall man standing there, I'm very very surprised" look
2 - The "Whoa - props dude. I'm very impressed, and can't figure out why I can't stop smiling." look
3 - The "I work downtown - I have see everything - and this man on stilts is not nearly wild enough to even deserve a look." Look.
It was pretty wild. Being noticed. at least 70% of the people usually shuffle by without glancing up from thier book or "I'm on my way home don't bother me gaze". But it was like 85% of people were double taking, telling thier friends, and just smiling - all of the smiles.
Snapchats - I must have been the most popular snapchat event in Chicago tonight. I cannot tell you how many people I saw snapchatting, or asked to snapchat me.
Photos - so - many photos. With people, without people.
And people talking. People would walked by and I'd shoot a "What's up man" their way and they'd man-giggle while gazing sidelong at me and chirp out a "nothin man" hahah.
People were nervous - but in a good way. The kind of nervous you get when you don't know whats going to happen, but you know its probably going to be something good.
One lady dropped a dollar and said, "This is just for the stilts man. You've got some guts"
The chief stories of the night, however - are people trying to make change and or find CD's in my case - and missing their trains - because I can't reach it.
Peter and Cara - Peter rolls up first, there's no one in the stop yet, is all smiles, Looked like he'd just gotten off work. He drops me a few dollars, sits on the bench and say's play me a tune man. :) I think I played Charlotte Mae. The stop is filling up, and Cara comes over and starts talking with us, laughing about Niel Young getting played on stilts. The train arrives and I tell em they can each have a CD, but its under my guitar case so they'd have to get it. Cause I'm on stilts. But I mis-spoke - they were in my guitar case. So while i stilt on over to the train to try and hold the door open, they are looking UNDER my case for CD's. I look back, see them failing beautifully, and look down the train imagining the look on the conductors face when he sees a 9 foot man half way in the car. The doors close, and we're left alone. Sorry cats. Missed your train scrambling for CDs hahah.
Eventually, I explained they were inside the case and they found em. They hung out and left on the next train. Nice folks.
Funny thing is, damn near the same thing happened again with Cory and Carolyn. I believe I gave the same bad directions trying to get them to find the CD. but even when they got in the case, they were pushing around like 50 singles trying to find it and the train was gone. They were happy to stay and listen though.
These are the things I didn't plan for. The things I didn't think about.
Matt - From Georgia - Wants to break a 20 to buy a CD, but I'm out, and so he just starts grabbing ones and counting them out from my case, But the train is coming, hes only at 10, starts panicking, and grabs a small handful, leaving the 20 and says,
"I'm positive I'm leaving you at least 2 more dollars than I'm taking" ha. ha. ha. ohhhh. hah.
Who knows. It looked like about 16 or 17 to me. Maybe het came out on top - either way it was hilarious.
All in all? The stilts are a mega success. They'll be brilliant for when I play in front of the Disney Store on Michigan Ave in the summer time, though not as incredible as when I finally master playing the Uke while singing Oh Susannah, while riding a unicycle. I still think that's pretty much the top. But there's only so many hours in the day.
Finally - I found, Quite possibly, the largest possum in the world on my porch when I got home.
Meet - Goliath, The Possum
So I finally walk AROUND the building, go in the back door, walk down the front, and he is STILL there. So I got back upstairs, grab my camera, open the door, and chase the fella behind a bush before I FINALLY get a picture. And you can't see it here - but He's a mammoth. He's about as wide as a BASKETBALL, and 2 feet long. He's huge. He could eat both our cats. He could fit them inside himself.
Huge.
At anyrate - a solid solid night.
For all you folks that read this mammoth post - Here is the reward -
This is my at Grand, wearing stilts busking, for the first time - Ever.
Follow the link, be a champion.
I love you all -
Ryan
Thursday, January 22, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 16
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 16
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
Below Goal: 58
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 4
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 27
TIME: 2
WHERE: Lasalle
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 34, Low 28, Current 32, feels like 25
This isn't nearly as earth shattering as when its -10. BUT - I am not - definitely not - complaining. :)
I'm headed to the CTA office this morning for a new licence. Mine expired 2 days ago, and I can't play at Washington or Jackson without it.
Another day. Another stack of one dollar bills.
Anyone seen Magic Mike? The movie about the male stripper? Its like that. :) When he's straightening out his dollars. :) :) :) Its one of the best parts of the day. Facing them all, making a neat stack of the chaos. Its a beautiful beautiful thing. A small thing. A great reward at the end of a long day.
Sometimes - I think I have this beautiful, romantic, sensational Idea of myself. Of who I am. Of what I do. Its justified - Its perfect - It's fulfilling in a thousand ways. Its everything I never knew I dreamed.
And then I laugh and think -
- "Good lord kid. You're 28, and you play guitar in the subway to pay your bills." -
And then I laugh, And I remember -
That in February, all my bills are already taken care of - solely from acting work. And how excited I am about that.
And then I laugh - and think -
I'm excited because all my bills will be paid for one month.
And then I laugh hard - from the guuuuut. Right from the belly - form The Heart of Laughter.
This is where I'm at. This is it. This is who I am. Day in, day out. Month to month.
And I love it - Not because everything about it is perfect. But - because I love it all - the good, and the bad. I think that's what love is. When you just love - Hell, Heaven, or High Water - and when it's hard, you decide to love. The good and the bad.
Remember that day I got to go play in the subway for 4 hours?
That was a good day.
You're all champions -
Ryan
EDIT:
Totally forgot to post this first one to Facebook before I left - so you're getting a double header.
Today wasn't fantastic, but It worked. Couple of fives saved my butt. It took me forever to get out of the house. Which, is a huge problem always - but - you know - one day at a time.
I'm exhausted. I'm not entirely sure why. Today wasn't all that stressful. I only played for 2 hours and then went to rehearsal. I don't know. I'm probably still sick, and so my body needs extra sleep but I'm just tanked.
Tomorrow - However - Tomorrow I figure out how to attach a Uke - to my guitar. Its for James and the Giant Peach - but - I'm gona use it in the subway. The UKEGUITAR. Uke on top, Guitar on Bottom. There will be pictures. It will be glorious. I think , that just having them attached will make me more money- I don't know. At least in the beginning. As long as I play em both juuuuuust a little, I'll fool people into thinking I actually play them at the same time :) :) :)
As for tonight - its medicine time for phil - and I have two gallons of mead to rack before I finally sleep.
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
1/22/15 27.00
Below Goal: 58
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 4
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 27
TIME: 2
WHERE: Lasalle
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 34, Low 28, Current 32, feels like 25
This isn't nearly as earth shattering as when its -10. BUT - I am not - definitely not - complaining. :)
I'm headed to the CTA office this morning for a new licence. Mine expired 2 days ago, and I can't play at Washington or Jackson without it.
Another day. Another stack of one dollar bills.
Anyone seen Magic Mike? The movie about the male stripper? Its like that. :) When he's straightening out his dollars. :) :) :) Its one of the best parts of the day. Facing them all, making a neat stack of the chaos. Its a beautiful beautiful thing. A small thing. A great reward at the end of a long day.
Sometimes - I think I have this beautiful, romantic, sensational Idea of myself. Of who I am. Of what I do. Its justified - Its perfect - It's fulfilling in a thousand ways. Its everything I never knew I dreamed.
And then I laugh and think -
- "Good lord kid. You're 28, and you play guitar in the subway to pay your bills." -
And then I laugh, And I remember -
That in February, all my bills are already taken care of - solely from acting work. And how excited I am about that.
And then I laugh - and think -
I'm excited because all my bills will be paid for one month.
And then I laugh hard - from the guuuuut. Right from the belly - form The Heart of Laughter.
This is where I'm at. This is it. This is who I am. Day in, day out. Month to month.
And I love it - Not because everything about it is perfect. But - because I love it all - the good, and the bad. I think that's what love is. When you just love - Hell, Heaven, or High Water - and when it's hard, you decide to love. The good and the bad.
Remember that day I got to go play in the subway for 4 hours?
That was a good day.
You're all champions -
Ryan
EDIT:
Totally forgot to post this first one to Facebook before I left - so you're getting a double header.
Today wasn't fantastic, but It worked. Couple of fives saved my butt. It took me forever to get out of the house. Which, is a huge problem always - but - you know - one day at a time.
I'm exhausted. I'm not entirely sure why. Today wasn't all that stressful. I only played for 2 hours and then went to rehearsal. I don't know. I'm probably still sick, and so my body needs extra sleep but I'm just tanked.
Tomorrow - However - Tomorrow I figure out how to attach a Uke - to my guitar. Its for James and the Giant Peach - but - I'm gona use it in the subway. The UKEGUITAR. Uke on top, Guitar on Bottom. There will be pictures. It will be glorious. I think , that just having them attached will make me more money- I don't know. At least in the beginning. As long as I play em both juuuuuust a little, I'll fool people into thinking I actually play them at the same time :) :) :)
As for tonight - its medicine time for phil - and I have two gallons of mead to rack before I finally sleep.
Ryan
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 15
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 15
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
Below Goal: 35
Above Goal:
Under Hours:
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 15
TIME: 4
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 35, Low 27, Current 35, feels like 27
Putting on my thermals is overkill - but It makes me HARDY.
No time! 17 minutes late! Had an unexpected phone call this morning so it put me a little behind.
So - I'm off.
I'm playing with Mo the violinist, hopefully at Monroe red from 2-5 today if anyone is out!
Barely a post this morning. sorry pals.
Ryan
EDIT:
SO today was remarkable and awful. :)
I spent 4 hours in Monroe, 3 of them Playing with Mo. And - Most of the time, when I play with other musicians, its not great. We don't mix, we can't work of each other. We can find a way of communicating that works. They're insane. Any, or all of the above.
But today was just nice. Really nice. I think it was partly because, Mo and I have a goal that we're working for. A show this Saturday, which, is on Facebook, and you should all come to if you're Free:)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1533034480300944/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming&source=1&sid_create=1238461040
But we just played. My songs, his songs. We even got a good crowd going for a couple trains.
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
1/21/15 15.00
Below Goal: 35
Above Goal:
Under Hours:
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken
Days off this week
For Today
Goal: 50
Actual: 15
TIME: 4
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 35, Low 27, Current 35, feels like 27
Putting on my thermals is overkill - but It makes me HARDY.
No time! 17 minutes late! Had an unexpected phone call this morning so it put me a little behind.
So - I'm off.
I'm playing with Mo the violinist, hopefully at Monroe red from 2-5 today if anyone is out!
Barely a post this morning. sorry pals.
Ryan
EDIT:
SO today was remarkable and awful. :)
I spent 4 hours in Monroe, 3 of them Playing with Mo. And - Most of the time, when I play with other musicians, its not great. We don't mix, we can't work of each other. We can find a way of communicating that works. They're insane. Any, or all of the above.
But today was just nice. Really nice. I think it was partly because, Mo and I have a goal that we're working for. A show this Saturday, which, is on Facebook, and you should all come to if you're Free:)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1533034480300944/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming&source=1&sid_create=1238461040
But we just played. My songs, his songs. We even got a good crowd going for a couple trains.
( I want you all to know- That there's a hedgehog in this sleeve. While I'm typing)
That lil bulge. Under my bicep. That's Phil. Hangin out. Like a boss.
At any rate - A very discouraging money day. I can't have too many of these. Or it'll eb over. And I have several "Catch up" Days where I'll play for 6 or so hours- but those are to take care of the days I'm in tech and wont be playing at all. This plan is not perfect - But its a hellova ride.
ALSO - My BUGABOOTS and WOOL SOCKS came. - and my feet, combined with temperatures that are above freezing - Are SAUNAS. Its amazing - I'll never go back. I'll never go back to not having Bugaboots. :)
At check-in before rehearsal today - all I had to say was "I feel very grounded today" I usually expand, or say more. But that was it. I got up. I left nearly on time. I played music with an incredible violinist for 3.5 hours, I ate lunch on the train, I pretended to be a giant, Scottish grasshopper for 4 hours, I rode the train home watching a crazy lady put chewed gum in the center of every seat on her side of the train, I successfully gave Phil his antibiotics, and then I finished this blog before 12:30.
What - a good day? right? Who has an superadorable-amazing-incrediblysweet-veryterrified-Hegdgehog and days like that? THIS GUY. This, lucky, lucky guy.
I'ma go feed Phil some apples, eat a bowl of Cinnemon Toast Crunch, read some Zenocide ( From the Ender's Game Series) and call this day completed.
Till next time -
Ryan ( And arm-sling Phil )
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 14
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 14
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
Below Goal:
Above Goal:
Under Hours:
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 5
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual:
TIME:
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 38, Low 32, Current 36, feels like 32
This - is such a warm Winter - thus far. Its wonderful.
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Updated 1/20/15
Need 750
Below Goal:
Above Goal:
Under Hours:
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 5
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual:
TIME:
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 38, Low 32, Current 36, feels like 32
This - is such a warm Winter - thus far. Its wonderful.
Meet Phil.
Phil is almost 2 years old, and the love of my life.
He's a huge, wonderful pain. He's terrified of the world, he is adorable, and I love him to death.
He went to the Vet yesterday for the first time ever, because he's lost some serious weight over the last 2 or 3 months and isn't eating as much. Turns out he has some kind of bacteria infection, so I've got antibiotics for 2 weeks for him. And, he doesn't seem to enjoy them. At all. Sorry kiddo.
Just realized my fly is down in the photo. Nice work Ryan. Classy.
SO - The blog.
Things are changing a bit and they're about to get very, very real for Mr. Westwood. I've been taking it easy - and not worrying too much about things - and that's been great, but, it is officially crunch time. And, on top of crunch time, its also tech week next week for Peach, and I'm fighting off some sort of cold. So - this is going to get interesting.
I've spent money where I shouldn't have, and I've been lazy where I should have worked. The time for error, is over.
I have 15 days, starting tomorrow, before a loan payment, and rent are due. 50 dollars each day, counting only the dollars, not the change, will make this happen. But there are no days off. And there are some double shift days.
It's potentially endurance suicide? Maybe?
Here. We. Go.
God help us all :)
Ryan
Monday, January 19, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 13
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 13
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 153
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 13.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 5
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual:
TIME:
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 37, Low 29, Current 36, feels like 28
Sick Sick Sick
So, seemingly everyone is sick.
I'm sick. All three of my roommates are sick.
Even My hedgehog Filbert is sick.
I went to the vet today, spent far too much money on this rodent, and came home with 2 weeks of antibiotics that I've somehow got to feed him. BUT. He will live.
I'm not really sick yet - I'm on the fringes. Just before you get sick, when you're exhausted 3 hours after you get up, and you've got this cough that has appeared out of no where.
So, I took the day. Farewell day. I wish I could have slept through more of you.
I promise this blog wont be boring forever :) :)
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 153
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 13.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 5
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual:
TIME:
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 37, Low 29, Current 36, feels like 28
Sick Sick Sick
So, seemingly everyone is sick.
I'm sick. All three of my roommates are sick.
Even My hedgehog Filbert is sick.
I went to the vet today, spent far too much money on this rodent, and came home with 2 weeks of antibiotics that I've somehow got to feed him. BUT. He will live.
I'm not really sick yet - I'm on the fringes. Just before you get sick, when you're exhausted 3 hours after you get up, and you've got this cough that has appeared out of no where.
So, I took the day. Farewell day. I wish I could have slept through more of you.
I promise this blog wont be boring forever :) :)
Ryan
Sunday, January 18, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 12
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 12
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 153
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 13.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 4
Days off this week - 2
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual:
TIME:
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 37, Low 29, Current 36, feels like 28
I am totally not wearing my black overcoat today. We're gona see how it goes.
Today Is my official day off - from busking at least. I'm leaving for a 6 hour Peach rehearsal in about 12 minutes.
My brother Eric posted on facebook yesterday about waking up everyday right when the alarm goes off, sitting straight up, and saying, "I'm awake!" and then believing it - with every ouch of your mass that you can muster - and then, you will in fact, be awake. His full post was about choosing to be happy - but this Awake thing - This peaked my interest.
So I tried it this morning, And it worked! It also helped that I got 9 hours of sleep last night. That definitely helped. BUT - It was great. I did end up laying down for 10 minutes AFTER that - but I was up. and that was good..
I'm gona finish this post up later tonight because I've got to jet.
In the Nile Crocodile!
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 153
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 13.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 4
Days off this week - 2
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual:
TIME:
WHERE:
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 37, Low 29, Current 36, feels like 28
I am totally not wearing my black overcoat today. We're gona see how it goes.
Today Is my official day off - from busking at least. I'm leaving for a 6 hour Peach rehearsal in about 12 minutes.
Gotta eat and drink this quick
Not the bottle of wine. Just the Ham Hash and coffee.
I've got enough ham to feed an army of pig eating zombies.
My brother Eric posted on facebook yesterday about waking up everyday right when the alarm goes off, sitting straight up, and saying, "I'm awake!" and then believing it - with every ouch of your mass that you can muster - and then, you will in fact, be awake. His full post was about choosing to be happy - but this Awake thing - This peaked my interest.
So I tried it this morning, And it worked! It also helped that I got 9 hours of sleep last night. That definitely helped. BUT - It was great. I did end up laying down for 10 minutes AFTER that - but I was up. and that was good..
I'm gona finish this post up later tonight because I've got to jet.
In the Nile Crocodile!
Ryan
Saturday, January 17, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 11
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 11
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 153
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 13.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 3
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 5
TIME: 1
WHERE: Washington
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 36, Low 29, Current 34, feels like 27
Only 2 coats today?
Double post here because I didn't have time to post this morning.
There is not a lot to report, other than I'm exhausted. Thoroughly. I was up till just before sunrise, slept for about 3 hours, woke up, chilled for a bit, and then went to the Washington stop for an hour, made 5 bucks, went to rehearsal, a zombie, and came home to go to sleep
However, on the way home - I decided that if a stop was open, I would play for a bit. So i made rounds to Grand and Chicago, but they were both full. and Really - thank heavens they were. I wouldn't have been worth much of anything, and would have been angry I wasn't sleeping. :)
Today set me back in a huge way - I didn't plan it out. So I'm going to cram some numbers tomorrow to figure out how to make this work.
For now - I'm so tired I can barely think.
Goodnight Dreamers -
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 153
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 13.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 3
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 5
TIME: 1
WHERE: Washington
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 36, Low 29, Current 34, feels like 27
Only 2 coats today?
Double post here because I didn't have time to post this morning.
There is not a lot to report, other than I'm exhausted. Thoroughly. I was up till just before sunrise, slept for about 3 hours, woke up, chilled for a bit, and then went to the Washington stop for an hour, made 5 bucks, went to rehearsal, a zombie, and came home to go to sleep
However, on the way home - I decided that if a stop was open, I would play for a bit. So i made rounds to Grand and Chicago, but they were both full. and Really - thank heavens they were. I wouldn't have been worth much of anything, and would have been angry I wasn't sleeping. :)
Today set me back in a huge way - I didn't plan it out. So I'm going to cram some numbers tomorrow to figure out how to make this work.
For now - I'm so tired I can barely think.
Goodnight Dreamers -
Ryan
Friday, January 16, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 10
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 10
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 93
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 9.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 3
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 85
TIME: 4
WHERE: Monroe, Grand
CD's Sold: 3
Temp: High 36, Low 29, Current 34, feels like 27
Only 2 coats today?
Today was a half day off because I don't have rehearsal tonight. Which means I had the morning and early afternoon to get some things done.
Like this ham.
It got cooked
And then it got sliced, and put in this huge - freaking Tupperware. POOF.
And Sunday night, It'll go into 3 bags to be frozen and eaten for the rest of the month.
Pretty pumped about Ham Sammiches.
And those boots? The Bugaboots?
Bought them - with two pairs of 70% Merino Wool socks.
They'll be here on the 26th.
AND I found a Vet for my hedgehog Filbert, who seems to be not eating as much, and has been losing weight for about a month. - SO I set up an appointment for him on Monday to go figure out how to get the lil guy healthy again.
And - All this Laundry?
It got washed and folded.
POOF.
Still haven't found those 3 socks though....... Pretty sure they're under the bed - and its way to cold to go fishing down there. ^
^
CHECK OUT THAT DOLLAR THOUGH? -----------------------> ^
Jackpot!
Now I get to go play guitar for 4 or 5 hours, and then go drink wine with a stellar cute girl, and listen to Connor Garvey's live album - "Before The Meteors (live)" - I just found him yesterday - and - he's blowing my world. In half. He's blowing it in half - He's that good. So, check it out. You'll love it. I'm bobbing up and down to "The Bird" as I type here.
................................. I just deleted day 9 somehow. I mean - I know how I did it. Some copy and paste issues mixed with Blogspot's auto save feature.
Oh dear. Alright. gona try and recreate that quick. Damnit.
Ryan
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit
So I'm still recovering from deleting day 9. But I have an idea to turn a terrible thing into a great thing. I'll get to that later. For now - About the subway today.
I think the world did me a solid today. I was so furious when I left the house - I could barely talk. Besides screaming. :)
So I strolled down the lake, and watched the waves breaking up the ice that's been forming the last few days. And it was lovely - like it always is. The sun was setting - and it was perfect. did alot for my mood.
And then the subway.
I spent an hour at Monroe, made a solid 10 dollars from the regulars I see there. from 5 - 6. Then I rolled over to Grand and some awesome stuff started happening.
I just started singing the balloons off songs. If you didn't know songs have balloons, they do, and I was singing them off them. Quite remarkable. With no regard to how hard I was singing. I was angry - and I was singing it out.
And people noticed - I was making money - like crazy. Like I haven't made in a long, long time. People were buying CDs, I had 3, and they were sold in 15 minutes. People were clapping. It was incredible.
Enter Allison and Tyler - There was a really late train, and a good stack of people formed. And these cats were crazy about me. Crazy. like whistling, and clapping. They bought a CD for 10 bucks, and just smiled, and smiled, and smiled. It was like I made their night. And they made mine.
This is when I ran out of CD's and 2 other people asked to buy them tonight. Goodbye 10 dollars. Worst thing ever - Turning away money because I ran out of CD's.
Enter Mom of drunk college kids. About 15 of them. You could smell the booze on their breath all the way down the platform like this cloud just circling them. Laughing, yelling - having a wonderful, Perfect Friday night. The platform is pretty packed at this point, and I yell,
"This song is for everyone on this platform under 25 years old! I started playing "Anthem" a song I wrote last year that is just what it sounds like - an anthem of youth. And the whole glob of kids came over - They kept talking - But I was playing for them, and they were converging for me. I was the background to their Subway ride that night. I prolly made like 8 bucks from just that group alone. And when they wake up tomorrow - Maybe they'll say -
"Remember that dude in the subway who played that song, and we all went over to him? That was freaking wild dude."
I hope they do - I hope they do.
Ryan
Edit
So I'm still recovering from deleting day 9. But I have an idea to turn a terrible thing into a great thing. I'll get to that later. For now - About the subway today.
I think the world did me a solid today. I was so furious when I left the house - I could barely talk. Besides screaming. :)
So I strolled down the lake, and watched the waves breaking up the ice that's been forming the last few days. And it was lovely - like it always is. The sun was setting - and it was perfect. did alot for my mood.
And then the subway.
I spent an hour at Monroe, made a solid 10 dollars from the regulars I see there. from 5 - 6. Then I rolled over to Grand and some awesome stuff started happening.
I just started singing the balloons off songs. If you didn't know songs have balloons, they do, and I was singing them off them. Quite remarkable. With no regard to how hard I was singing. I was angry - and I was singing it out.
And people noticed - I was making money - like crazy. Like I haven't made in a long, long time. People were buying CDs, I had 3, and they were sold in 15 minutes. People were clapping. It was incredible.
Enter Allison and Tyler - There was a really late train, and a good stack of people formed. And these cats were crazy about me. Crazy. like whistling, and clapping. They bought a CD for 10 bucks, and just smiled, and smiled, and smiled. It was like I made their night. And they made mine.
This is when I ran out of CD's and 2 other people asked to buy them tonight. Goodbye 10 dollars. Worst thing ever - Turning away money because I ran out of CD's.
Enter Mom of drunk college kids. About 15 of them. You could smell the booze on their breath all the way down the platform like this cloud just circling them. Laughing, yelling - having a wonderful, Perfect Friday night. The platform is pretty packed at this point, and I yell,
"This song is for everyone on this platform under 25 years old! I started playing "Anthem" a song I wrote last year that is just what it sounds like - an anthem of youth. And the whole glob of kids came over - They kept talking - But I was playing for them, and they were converging for me. I was the background to their Subway ride that night. I prolly made like 8 bucks from just that group alone. And when they wake up tomorrow - Maybe they'll say -
"Remember that dude in the subway who played that song, and we all went over to him? That was freaking wild dude."
I hope they do - I hope they do.
Ryan
Thursday, January 15, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 9
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 9
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 118
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 8.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 3
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 7
TIME: .5
WHERE: Lasalle
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 36, Low 29, Current 34, feels like 27
Only 2 coats today?
Ah hell.
Its day 10 - I' deleted this post from yesterday somehow while I was working on 10.
This was such a good post.
All about 2014 - and how I was feeling about the last year and the one man band in Peach and setting goals and OAT and youtube and racing around for 90 minutes to EVERY stop on the subway and finding a spot at lasalle and Charlotte giving me a 10 spot. . and. Oh lord.
and I'm never gona get it back. I can't recreate that mood yesterday. It was such a good post. I can't. Theres no............ damn it.
You ever get so frustrated that you can barely think? That you can't---
I'm screaming - I'm screaming in my apartment right now.
Eff it - I'm gona go play.
1-17-15
SO I've decided, that the best way to handle this day is to turn a terrible thing, into a really good thing.
So I'm just going to post really incredible things here. For the rest of the month. Things that make me happy - Stories that happen. Just really great stuff.
And I'm going to start with this video - Its from last summer in Portland - This guy is looping - And he's sensational.
It makes me happy every time I listen to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pXKm-7SNKo&feature=youtu.be
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 118
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 8.5
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 3
Days off this week - 1
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 7
TIME: .5
WHERE: Lasalle
CD's Sold:
Temp: High 36, Low 29, Current 34, feels like 27
Only 2 coats today?
Ah hell.
Its day 10 - I' deleted this post from yesterday somehow while I was working on 10.
This was such a good post.
All about 2014 - and how I was feeling about the last year and the one man band in Peach and setting goals and OAT and youtube and racing around for 90 minutes to EVERY stop on the subway and finding a spot at lasalle and Charlotte giving me a 10 spot. . and. Oh lord.
and I'm never gona get it back. I can't recreate that mood yesterday. It was such a good post. I can't. Theres no............ damn it.
You ever get so frustrated that you can barely think? That you can't---
I'm screaming - I'm screaming in my apartment right now.
Eff it - I'm gona go play.
1-17-15
SO I've decided, that the best way to handle this day is to turn a terrible thing, into a really good thing.
So I'm just going to post really incredible things here. For the rest of the month. Things that make me happy - Stories that happen. Just really great stuff.
And I'm going to start with this video - Its from last summer in Portland - This guy is looping - And he's sensational.
It makes me happy every time I listen to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pXKm-7SNKo&feature=youtu.be
Ryan
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 8
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 8
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 125
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 9.00
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 2
Days off this week - 0
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 44
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe - Blue
CD's Sold: 1
Temp: High 19, Low 14, Current 15, feels like 4
Think happy thoughts - Like sunshine - And rainbows. And sand so hot you can't stand in one place.
Alright - I'm typing as fast as I can - Its 11:28 - I had a morning with Joel Collins, who I hadn't seen in ages and ages but it ran a little late, so I'm typing like a Tasmanian devil.
French toast is a beautiful thing. Why have I not made a slice with my scrambled eggs every morning? Its just the most simple addition ever.
At anyrate - Joel came over, we ate french toast, drank coffee, watched Star Trek and talked about old times in college. All the good things. And now I'm off - gona check in at Jackson and Washington today to see if I can nab a spot. Should be able to get a solid 4 hours in if I leave in the next 15 minutes - which - if I stop making mistakes and having to hit backspace 20 times - Can happen.
EDIT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today had a bit of a different feel to it. I cruised to all the spots today. Checked in at Washington, Jackson red and blue and kept cruising eventually ending up at Monroe on the Blue line. The thing that was so different - was that I knew every performer I ran into. And they knew me - And we were all talking spots and recommending things to each other - and none of the really crazy or weird folks were out today. Just a handful of good people. It was my own little ragtag community.
I'd never played at Monroe and the Blue line before and some fun things happened today.
When I got there - a fella named AL, was just singing to the air. Not asking for tips or anything - and he said, "You comin in? You Playin?" and proceeded to give me the scoop on the spot. Where to stand, how traffic would roll in, the times when people were gona show up - Big guy just took me under his shoulder and I could tell he was getting a lot from telling me all these things that I mostly knew already. So I let him. :) I did not, however, have any idea where to stand on the huge platform though - so that was very, very helpful - and saved me time, and lots of moving my case back and forth.
1st of all - the day started with a 5 spot dropped by a lovely woman named Tracy who said, " I really love good music down here." So - Thanks Tracy - I think it's pretty good too. :)
At the same time - I ran into Charday - Prolly butchering your name there girl - but it was loud - and hard to hear. :) She gave me a buck, works for the CTA, told me she loved my voice and friend-ed me on Facebook on the spot.
So I just started out the day feeling loved - wanted - and that - You know that doesn't always happen - so its very sweet when it does. Thank you two.
Lastly - A lady, wearing ear muffs walked up around 4 pm. I was playing Heart of Gold by Neil Young - and she pulls out this wad of dollar bills. And it looks like a stack - like a huge, the most one dollar bills I've ever seen anyone carry down in the subway. And they're tied up with this rubber band. She takes it off, takes out like 2 or three dollars, and then tosses the STACK into my case. - It hit with an audible THUD. I could hear it. Actually hear it. I've never HEARD dollars hitting my case before. And I shot out this, "Thank you" and she was already turned around and walking away - and she didn't look back. It was Fourteen Dollars. one. four. The most one dollar bills I've ever gotten from a single person at one time.
Who knows why she just walked away. That seems to happen a lot when people know they're dropping a lot. Anything more than about 8 dollars. Its like people know they're doing you a huge thing - and they don't know how to handle their own generosity. Or are embarrassed by it - or something. Or don't want other people to know it was them who just made this musician's day. Which, is an interesting problem. Almost every person, save a very special few, that have dropped me 20's, have dropped them, and turn around. Some smile - some don't.
People are all different - But I think we're all good at heart. Even the crazy ones that I'm terrified of. There's good in there - there has to be - Or I have to seriously rethink who I am. Because believing there's good in everyone, is just as important as there actually being good in everyone.
I had a very remarkable experience walking through the Daley Center from Lake to Washington today. I realized I was exhausted. I've been leaving around noon, and getting home around 11:30 for what seems like forever - And - its really only been 8 days. But what i realized - is that I am doing things that I love - and I'm furiously passionate about - all day - Playing, writing music, and then going to rehearsal at Filament - And when you do things you love - It takes - a lot - of energy. And you get home at night - and you just want to lie down - but you can't - because there's a blog to write - and you LOVE that too - And when you finally get into bed - you smile yourself to sleep - because in the grand sense of it all - This - is what people dream about - every day. And i get to live that. Every day. And - how - cool is that? How incredible. How lucky.
I never dreamed I would be this man today. Something like him, assuredly. But this? Heavens. I'm not that crazy.
It's time for bed - I have a Youtube channel to make tomorrow morning.
All my love - Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 125
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 9.00
Over Hours:
Total Days off taken - 2
Days off this week - 0
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 44
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe - Blue
CD's Sold: 1
Temp: High 19, Low 14, Current 15, feels like 4
Think happy thoughts - Like sunshine - And rainbows. And sand so hot you can't stand in one place.
Alright - I'm typing as fast as I can - Its 11:28 - I had a morning with Joel Collins, who I hadn't seen in ages and ages but it ran a little late, so I'm typing like a Tasmanian devil.
French toast is a beautiful thing. Why have I not made a slice with my scrambled eggs every morning? Its just the most simple addition ever.
At anyrate - Joel came over, we ate french toast, drank coffee, watched Star Trek and talked about old times in college. All the good things. And now I'm off - gona check in at Jackson and Washington today to see if I can nab a spot. Should be able to get a solid 4 hours in if I leave in the next 15 minutes - which - if I stop making mistakes and having to hit backspace 20 times - Can happen.
A Days Rations
It sounds like I'm in a war - when I say it like that.
TODAY - GENTLEMEN - WE GOTTA FIGHT! FOR THE RIGHT! To PLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
in the subway. <Thank you Beastie Boys>
Also - I've been thinking about boots - A lot. About boots that will change my life. I got a recommendation from Christian Libonatti - about Columbia's 200 Gram Bugaboots - And - I believe - In the next few days - If I can find the right sale online - I'm going to make my first major purchase of the year.
I had a check come in, very very late, from a gig I played back in December, so there's a little extra cash, and I think its time for my feet to stay warm. I think I owe it to them. They work hard.
So - Behold
Columbia's 200 Gram - Stout Cedar - Bugaboots
LOOK AT THOSE! AREN'T THOSE THE SEXIEST, MOST WARM THINGS YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE??????????????????
OK! I'm out the door! Later daters!
Ryan
EDIT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today had a bit of a different feel to it. I cruised to all the spots today. Checked in at Washington, Jackson red and blue and kept cruising eventually ending up at Monroe on the Blue line. The thing that was so different - was that I knew every performer I ran into. And they knew me - And we were all talking spots and recommending things to each other - and none of the really crazy or weird folks were out today. Just a handful of good people. It was my own little ragtag community.
I'd never played at Monroe and the Blue line before and some fun things happened today.
When I got there - a fella named AL, was just singing to the air. Not asking for tips or anything - and he said, "You comin in? You Playin?" and proceeded to give me the scoop on the spot. Where to stand, how traffic would roll in, the times when people were gona show up - Big guy just took me under his shoulder and I could tell he was getting a lot from telling me all these things that I mostly knew already. So I let him. :) I did not, however, have any idea where to stand on the huge platform though - so that was very, very helpful - and saved me time, and lots of moving my case back and forth.
1st of all - the day started with a 5 spot dropped by a lovely woman named Tracy who said, " I really love good music down here." So - Thanks Tracy - I think it's pretty good too. :)
At the same time - I ran into Charday - Prolly butchering your name there girl - but it was loud - and hard to hear. :) She gave me a buck, works for the CTA, told me she loved my voice and friend-ed me on Facebook on the spot.
So I just started out the day feeling loved - wanted - and that - You know that doesn't always happen - so its very sweet when it does. Thank you two.
Lastly - A lady, wearing ear muffs walked up around 4 pm. I was playing Heart of Gold by Neil Young - and she pulls out this wad of dollar bills. And it looks like a stack - like a huge, the most one dollar bills I've ever seen anyone carry down in the subway. And they're tied up with this rubber band. She takes it off, takes out like 2 or three dollars, and then tosses the STACK into my case. - It hit with an audible THUD. I could hear it. Actually hear it. I've never HEARD dollars hitting my case before. And I shot out this, "Thank you" and she was already turned around and walking away - and she didn't look back. It was Fourteen Dollars. one. four. The most one dollar bills I've ever gotten from a single person at one time.
Who knows why she just walked away. That seems to happen a lot when people know they're dropping a lot. Anything more than about 8 dollars. Its like people know they're doing you a huge thing - and they don't know how to handle their own generosity. Or are embarrassed by it - or something. Or don't want other people to know it was them who just made this musician's day. Which, is an interesting problem. Almost every person, save a very special few, that have dropped me 20's, have dropped them, and turn around. Some smile - some don't.
People are all different - But I think we're all good at heart. Even the crazy ones that I'm terrified of. There's good in there - there has to be - Or I have to seriously rethink who I am. Because believing there's good in everyone, is just as important as there actually being good in everyone.
I had a very remarkable experience walking through the Daley Center from Lake to Washington today. I realized I was exhausted. I've been leaving around noon, and getting home around 11:30 for what seems like forever - And - its really only been 8 days. But what i realized - is that I am doing things that I love - and I'm furiously passionate about - all day - Playing, writing music, and then going to rehearsal at Filament - And when you do things you love - It takes - a lot - of energy. And you get home at night - and you just want to lie down - but you can't - because there's a blog to write - and you LOVE that too - And when you finally get into bed - you smile yourself to sleep - because in the grand sense of it all - This - is what people dream about - every day. And i get to live that. Every day. And - how - cool is that? How incredible. How lucky.
I never dreamed I would be this man today. Something like him, assuredly. But this? Heavens. I'm not that crazy.
It's time for bed - I have a Youtube channel to make tomorrow morning.
All my love - Ryan
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 7
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 7
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 109
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 7.00
Over Hours:
Days off taken - 2
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 29
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 16, Low 4, Current 18, feels like 6
The lake is frozen Pals. Just - Frozen.
Let it be known that on this day, the seventeenth of January, two thousand fourteen - that Lake Michigan, is Frozen.
I haven't had the pleasure of walking down to it yet - but when I woke up this morning, the lake was white - which, is not a natural color - for a lake.
It's been really awesome watching it happen. 3 nights ago was when it started, and if you looked out at night, it looked like parts were cloudy - like there was smoke, trapped on the surface. Just this tiny layer of slush, not even hard ice, was swirling around. There were no waves. I mean not even a trace of waves. It was like I was looking at a duck pond where there was no wind. The water was like glass, it was foggy enough that I couldn't see the Hancock tower from the pier by my house, and it was snowing - so it was quite. Quiet in the way only snow can make it.
The next day waves came crashing in, shooting over the pier, slamming into the ice banks, breaking up all the ice, sloshing it around, throwing it on top of itself and then last night, it refroze, and snowed on top of it. I bet its a spectacular site. I'll have a picture of it for you later tonight.
I came very close - this morning - to waking up on time, but when push came to shove, my body demanded 8 hours, and I relented. Which means I'll only get 4 hours in the subway today because I've got to spend some time on this British accent for Peach before I leave.
Also - NEWS~!
BOOKED A GIG FROM THE BLOG.
YES FOLKS - THAT'S RIGHT.
CITY NEWS CAFE in PORTAGE PARK has been following the blog and has asked me to come play from 12-2pm on 1/24/15 and to see if I can bring MO, the Violinist I met this week. I don't know if he'll still be in town, but, I'll give him a holler later on today.
Farewell! Off to turn this Grasshopper into an English Gentlemen.
Ryan
EDIT -
One day I'm going to play for 5 hours. 1 day out of this week - I played for 5 hours. One day. - Well - Definitely room for improvement there. It is really hard to get out the door in the morning. To get up early enough - and then actually leave when I need to. I feel like it should be less difficult? Who knows -
Either way- Some really fun stuff happened today.
I started out by walking down the beach so I could see this Magic -
5 Foot Ice banks that have built themselves about 20 feet into the lake - and then frozen snow and Ice almost as far as the eye could see. Terrifying.
Monroe was empty when I got there so I laid out my gear and went at it. It was a pretty solid 10 dollars an hour the whole way. Fairly void of anything super special happening - until THIS
And lastly, my roommate, Nathan Scheetz happened to come into the Monroe stop on his way home from work and recorded this snid-bit of a video of my latest song - "Giant's", which is about my Nephew, Kyler.
You see, I went to my sister's place in South Dakota with my parents for Christmas. My sister has 2 boys: Kyler - 5 and Carson - 2. And - I just love them more than I've ever loved any child - ever. I've never connected with kids - like these two boys. Its pretty wild. At any rate - Tiffany, my sister, set up my bed in Kyler's bedroom. So when he woke up the first day - POOF - there was uncle Ryan. So he jumped into my bed at about 5 am and just started being the adorable kiddo that he is - I must have convinced him to let me sleep a tiny bit more - and then at 8:47 I sent Nathan Scheetz this text,
" Well. its 847 AM. since 720, I've been a giant. Squashed countless hedgehogs and polar bears, been in several line rating competitions, jumped over rivers of lava, killed 20 bad ninjas with poison, found a stolen refrigerator and held a Mass Conference of Planes." - It was, undoubtedly the best morning of the trip. Perhaps, ever better than Christmas morning - which, is a story in and of itself. :)
So, it took me a couple weeks to figure it out - but - I finished it in the subway 2 days ago when Smokey was filming me. Here's the 1st verse, and almost the whole chorus of that song.
That - is it.
All in, all out, all stories accounted for. Adding to the bucket - one day at a time.
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 109
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 7.00
Over Hours:
Days off taken - 2
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 29
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 0
Temp: High 16, Low 4, Current 18, feels like 6
The lake is frozen Pals. Just - Frozen.
Let it be known that on this day, the seventeenth of January, two thousand fourteen - that Lake Michigan, is Frozen.
I haven't had the pleasure of walking down to it yet - but when I woke up this morning, the lake was white - which, is not a natural color - for a lake.
WHITE.
The next day waves came crashing in, shooting over the pier, slamming into the ice banks, breaking up all the ice, sloshing it around, throwing it on top of itself and then last night, it refroze, and snowed on top of it. I bet its a spectacular site. I'll have a picture of it for you later tonight.
I came very close - this morning - to waking up on time, but when push came to shove, my body demanded 8 hours, and I relented. Which means I'll only get 4 hours in the subway today because I've got to spend some time on this British accent for Peach before I leave.
Also - NEWS~!
BOOKED A GIG FROM THE BLOG.
YES FOLKS - THAT'S RIGHT.
CITY NEWS CAFE in PORTAGE PARK has been following the blog and has asked me to come play from 12-2pm on 1/24/15 and to see if I can bring MO, the Violinist I met this week. I don't know if he'll still be in town, but, I'll give him a holler later on today.
Farewell! Off to turn this Grasshopper into an English Gentlemen.
Ryan
EDIT -
One day I'm going to play for 5 hours. 1 day out of this week - I played for 5 hours. One day. - Well - Definitely room for improvement there. It is really hard to get out the door in the morning. To get up early enough - and then actually leave when I need to. I feel like it should be less difficult? Who knows -
Either way- Some really fun stuff happened today.
I started out by walking down the beach so I could see this Magic -
5 Foot Ice banks that have built themselves about 20 feet into the lake - and then frozen snow and Ice almost as far as the eye could see. Terrifying.
Monroe was empty when I got there so I laid out my gear and went at it. It was a pretty solid 10 dollars an hour the whole way. Fairly void of anything super special happening - until THIS
This is a coin pouch that two girls left. They walked up, almost meekly right as a train was coming, and set it down in my case. They were on the train almost before I could thank them and toss them a demo. A coin purse. A COIN PURSE. and not only that but a COOL COIN PURSE. and it had like 4 bucks in change inside it!
So now - the purse is absolutely priceless and is immediately on the list of the most amazing things I've ever been given while busking, including but not limited to: An entire lunch - Sandwich, chips, apple, and a slice of cake from Mitch at the Monroe Redline last year, A warm Smirnoff Ice from a drunk woman coming out of a rock concert in Louisville, Kentucky, and the sole of a shoe - from someone so sneaky I didn't even see the drop it - In Iowa City, Iowa.
And lastly, my roommate, Nathan Scheetz happened to come into the Monroe stop on his way home from work and recorded this snid-bit of a video of my latest song - "Giant's", which is about my Nephew, Kyler.
You see, I went to my sister's place in South Dakota with my parents for Christmas. My sister has 2 boys: Kyler - 5 and Carson - 2. And - I just love them more than I've ever loved any child - ever. I've never connected with kids - like these two boys. Its pretty wild. At any rate - Tiffany, my sister, set up my bed in Kyler's bedroom. So when he woke up the first day - POOF - there was uncle Ryan. So he jumped into my bed at about 5 am and just started being the adorable kiddo that he is - I must have convinced him to let me sleep a tiny bit more - and then at 8:47 I sent Nathan Scheetz this text,
" Well. its 847 AM. since 720, I've been a giant. Squashed countless hedgehogs and polar bears, been in several line rating competitions, jumped over rivers of lava, killed 20 bad ninjas with poison, found a stolen refrigerator and held a Mass Conference of Planes." - It was, undoubtedly the best morning of the trip. Perhaps, ever better than Christmas morning - which, is a story in and of itself. :)
So, it took me a couple weeks to figure it out - but - I finished it in the subway 2 days ago when Smokey was filming me. Here's the 1st verse, and almost the whole chorus of that song.
That - is it.
All in, all out, all stories accounted for. Adding to the bucket - one day at a time.
Ryan
Monday, January 12, 2015
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 6
25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 6
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 78
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 5.00
Over Hours:
Days off taken - 2
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 27
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 2
Temp: High 26, Low 9, Current 20, feels like 5
I feel like as long as we're in the double digits - we're golden.
I'm having a hard time this morning. Little overwhelmed with everything. Subway. Peach. Spoon River. Weather. Sleep. Groceries. Its stemming from having a rough time yesterday. Getting a tiny amount of sleep Saturday, barely any money in the subway and then - really - not being able to STOMP on 1 and 3, and ACCENT STRUM on 2 and 4... ... ... ... ...
I'm working on a production of James and the Giant Peach with Filament Theater that opens February 11th. We're writing this song - that has foot tambourine on beats 1 and 3, scratching on the guitar throughout, and then accenting strums on 2 and 4 - and IT. IS. SO. HARD. I'm impatient with it. I should just be able to DO it. It's so simple. Infuriatingly simple. We worked the song for about an hour yesterday and I just can't get it yet. And - you know - there's a month. We have a month. I have 29 days to learn how to do it so I shouldn't be getting all upset about it - but - MAN - Grinds my gears.
So I'll keep working. slowly but surely, right?
Today is one of those days where I could just sit inside, eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Tombstone pizza, and watch Star Trek: Next Generation until the cows come home by themselves - Which, my farmer friends tell me, they seldom do.
Days like today - I want to cower - I want to hide and pretend they're not happening - I'm not sure why they pop up. But I think its when I get overwhelmed. When there's a lot to do. Too much to do. When I can't focus on the day-to-day the hour-to-hour and can only see the massive big picture.
So the only thing to do, is just get the Huckleberry out the door. And start doing.
So I'm gonna burn 5 CD's. And get the Huckleberry out of here -
Stay Warm Chicago -
Love Ryan
EDIT:
I made it through the day. That - is a success.
If I take out CD sales - it means I made approx. 5.67 dollars an hour today. with them, I made a solid 9. So I'm gona hang on to 9 while I try and figure out why a made so little money today. I also - made about 6 dollars in change, from the looks of it. - But I don't count the change. I just put it in a jar as a failsafe at the end of the month.
I played from 2-5. A solid time of day. Maybe it was because it was Monday? Or perhaps Monroe is going dry. That happens after a while. Everyone that would give you money, has given you money, and they need a break from you before they'll toss more.
I don't know - - - -
I played through Every song on my list today though. I have a list - that is wildly incomplete. There are 50 songs on it - half covers, half my stuff - and I'm missing about 15 songs. You know what that means?
I have FIFTY songs - in my head. That's crazy. I've thought, that sometimes - Its hard for me to remember things down the road, because all my memory is filled up with songs - but - I don't think the mind works like that ;)
The awesome part about this day - was when I got to rehearsal for Peach. We do this thing called "Check in" when we get there, and "reinforce" when we leave. Check in, is where you tell the group anything you want - in order to be present in the room. You can let go of something, say your excited about something, just talk about your day - whatever you want. And Reinforce, is where you talk about what you want to - Reinforce from the day. haha.
So today at Check In I said,
" I just want everyone to know, that its been a really weird day. I'm feeling real weird, but I'm choosing right now - to have an incredible rest of my day." And then I did.
Groucho Marx has this great quote that I attached to the bottom of my emails as a signature about 5 years ago -
I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.
Groucho Marx
When I read that for the first time - It changed the way I think about things. I can't always do it - but Happiness, in a large part - Is a choice. At least for me it is. It took me getting to rehearsal, recognizing i had a chance for a restart, and choosing to do it - But its the best I've felt in 36 hours - So, it worked. It really did. So thanks Groucho. That quote seldom lets me down.
its 2 am. The combined efforts of the "Single track work" on the redline, a late night, emergency shopping trip to Jewel because I was completely out of food, Racking a gallon of homemade Mead, and writing this blog have kept me up 2 hours past when I should have gone to sleep. Necessary tasks I suppose.
Goodnight. Sweet dreams. Don't let any Doctor Seuss monsters bite.
Ryan
Goal: Play in the Subway 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 25 days making at least 1080.00, which will cover all my bills for January.
Need 1080
Below Goal: 78
Above Goal:
Under Hours: 5.00
Over Hours:
Days off taken - 2
For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 27
TIME: 3
WHERE: Monroe
CD's Sold: 2
Temp: High 26, Low 9, Current 20, feels like 5
I feel like as long as we're in the double digits - we're golden.
I'm having a hard time this morning. Little overwhelmed with everything. Subway. Peach. Spoon River. Weather. Sleep. Groceries. Its stemming from having a rough time yesterday. Getting a tiny amount of sleep Saturday, barely any money in the subway and then - really - not being able to STOMP on 1 and 3, and ACCENT STRUM on 2 and 4... ... ... ... ...
I'm working on a production of James and the Giant Peach with Filament Theater that opens February 11th. We're writing this song - that has foot tambourine on beats 1 and 3, scratching on the guitar throughout, and then accenting strums on 2 and 4 - and IT. IS. SO. HARD. I'm impatient with it. I should just be able to DO it. It's so simple. Infuriatingly simple. We worked the song for about an hour yesterday and I just can't get it yet. And - you know - there's a month. We have a month. I have 29 days to learn how to do it so I shouldn't be getting all upset about it - but - MAN - Grinds my gears.
So I'll keep working. slowly but surely, right?
Today is one of those days where I could just sit inside, eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Tombstone pizza, and watch Star Trek: Next Generation until the cows come home by themselves - Which, my farmer friends tell me, they seldom do.
Days like today - I want to cower - I want to hide and pretend they're not happening - I'm not sure why they pop up. But I think its when I get overwhelmed. When there's a lot to do. Too much to do. When I can't focus on the day-to-day the hour-to-hour and can only see the massive big picture.
So the only thing to do, is just get the Huckleberry out the door. And start doing.
So I'm gonna burn 5 CD's. And get the Huckleberry out of here -
Stay Warm Chicago -
Love Ryan
EDIT:
I made it through the day. That - is a success.
If I take out CD sales - it means I made approx. 5.67 dollars an hour today. with them, I made a solid 9. So I'm gona hang on to 9 while I try and figure out why a made so little money today. I also - made about 6 dollars in change, from the looks of it. - But I don't count the change. I just put it in a jar as a failsafe at the end of the month.
I played from 2-5. A solid time of day. Maybe it was because it was Monday? Or perhaps Monroe is going dry. That happens after a while. Everyone that would give you money, has given you money, and they need a break from you before they'll toss more.
I don't know - - - -
I played through Every song on my list today though. I have a list - that is wildly incomplete. There are 50 songs on it - half covers, half my stuff - and I'm missing about 15 songs. You know what that means?
I have FIFTY songs - in my head. That's crazy. I've thought, that sometimes - Its hard for me to remember things down the road, because all my memory is filled up with songs - but - I don't think the mind works like that ;)
The awesome part about this day - was when I got to rehearsal for Peach. We do this thing called "Check in" when we get there, and "reinforce" when we leave. Check in, is where you tell the group anything you want - in order to be present in the room. You can let go of something, say your excited about something, just talk about your day - whatever you want. And Reinforce, is where you talk about what you want to - Reinforce from the day. haha.
So today at Check In I said,
" I just want everyone to know, that its been a really weird day. I'm feeling real weird, but I'm choosing right now - to have an incredible rest of my day." And then I did.
Groucho Marx has this great quote that I attached to the bottom of my emails as a signature about 5 years ago -
I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.
Groucho Marx
When I read that for the first time - It changed the way I think about things. I can't always do it - but Happiness, in a large part - Is a choice. At least for me it is. It took me getting to rehearsal, recognizing i had a chance for a restart, and choosing to do it - But its the best I've felt in 36 hours - So, it worked. It really did. So thanks Groucho. That quote seldom lets me down.
its 2 am. The combined efforts of the "Single track work" on the redline, a late night, emergency shopping trip to Jewel because I was completely out of food, Racking a gallon of homemade Mead, and writing this blog have kept me up 2 hours past when I should have gone to sleep. Necessary tasks I suppose.
Goodnight. Sweet dreams. Don't let any Doctor Seuss monsters bite.
Ryan
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