25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 1

 25 days, $1080, And a Bucket of Stories - Day 1

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: 27
Above Goal: 0
Under Hours: 4
Over Hours:

For Today
Goal: 60
Actual: 33
TIME: 2 hours
WHERE: Jackson
CD's Sold: 2
Temp: High 3, Low -7, Feels like -19
(This is where I pretend to be all cool, but really, its gona be frigid.)

Here we are - The beginning -
How this works:
I post in the morning before I leave for the subway. THEN! I update the post at night, so yall can see what happened during the day.

In a check-in before James and the Giant Peach rehearsal last night I said,
    "I'm really trying to embrace the cold with a loving heart and open arms - because, that's the only way I'm going to get through it."

STORY TIME

2 years ago I was working at The Signature Room on top of the Hancock building. It was June, and it had been above 100 degrees for 4 days. I was in my first apartment in Chicago - a 3 month sublet - and there was no air conditioning. I was living with Justin Mangrich, Nick Ostrem, and Sean Gath - In a two bedroom, paying approximately 80 dollars a month in rent, going to the food bank up the street every other week. I slept on the porch, Nick and Sean on the couches, and Justin in the bed. You'd think we'd have fought for the bed - but - It was a really good porch :) :)  I was walking to work, muttering and sputtering a chain of expletives about the weather, akin to Ralphie's dad in Christmas Story when I was struck with a thought.
    "The only way I'm gona get through this, is if i decide, right now, to love this heat with everything I have.          Every time I want to complain, I'm going to get excited instead." Crazy? Who knows. But it worked.
It worked! Something clicked, switched in my brain. After a few weeks, I DID love the heat. I actually loved it. I asked for more, I challenged the summer for more. I decided Summer was my new favorite month, went to the beach every second I could, and did my best to stay hydrated as I sweat at least 6 gallons a day playing in the super heated subways.

Now,                  - - - There will be no challenging Father Winter for more cold - - -

Just want to make that clear. 

But I am going to love this. I am going to get excited about this. The best that I can. Because if there is one person who can get excited about absolutely nothing - It is me folks. -Very - Excitable.

Cheers from 1101 W Pratt Blvd - To warmer times last summer - 

I'm late. Its noon. Should have left an hour ago.

Fairwell until tonight. I'm off to make several PBJ's.

UPDATE:

So I got a little lost with some life admin as I was leaving and ended up getting to the station at about 2. I went to Monroe and ran into a man named T Rell. 

    Now - Its always hard - when you roll up to a spot you want, and its taken. You find every reason possible, and illogical, to hate the person standing there performing. You automatically find every flaw they have. Everything they're doing wrong, that you could do so much better. 

T Rell was standing in front of a backpack, holding a laptop with earphones in, singing accapella.

I have to work, every day on loving people. alot of it just happens. I'm a lover. Its who my mamma made me - but - love is work. simple and plain enough. So as I'm staring at T Rell I force myself to smile - which, changes everything. And I start listening - and he is killing it - I mean killing it. 

    This dude - has a voice. one of those voices where if you stop, focus, and listen for more than 2 seconds - he has you. Has you locked. He owns your ears - and that's it. that's all he needed was 2 seconds. He had me in two seconds. But I had to open my heart up first. 

I wonder if people have to open their hearts to me before they drop a dollar?

Or do I open their hearts? 

Or are their hearts just open, and ready to love?

    The long and the short, is that I don't know - but I'm so glad there's people out there that listen, and I'm working to be more like them as best I can. 

T Rell sang at Monroe - and I rolled to Jackson, which, was miraculously open. There's always someone there - because its one of the 2 stops that its actually legal to play in. I guess no one was quite as insane as I was today. Playing in "feels like -19" weather. 

And while I'm on the subject - so I give no one the wrong impression - This blog makes it sound like I'm playing in frigid cold - but - 

SECRET TIME:

This is the inside scoop. Something you may never notice unless you read the blog of a crazy dude who decides to freeze his Hiney off every winter. 

The subway's are on a delay, of about 1.5 days. The cold takes time to get down there - to the tune of about 36 hours. So the temperature is always on a delay - its at least 10 degrees warmer down there -  And there's no wind. Don't get me wrong. I still wear thermal underwear, two pairs of socks, a t shirt, a wool jacket, a cotton hoody, a wool overcoat, gloves, a hat that makes me look like i live in Fargo and a scarf. BUT. its better than the street level. 

Do me a favor? Tell no one. Then everyone will keep on thinking I really am a viking. 

To bed. Lovers, friends, and cats alike. To bed - with electric blankets. 

Ryan