Saafir

Wednesday
^{8:00pm until 11:00pm}
Do voice exercises for 30 minutes. Practice singing All Of You, Angel Eyes, Kiss, and Paranoid Android. Practice the chromatic scale for ten minutes. Do the first five lessons in the Hal Leonard book. Practice Amazing Grace and I Got A Woman for thirty minutes. Ask Noah about the CD.

Thursday
^{11:00am until 2:00pm}
Do voice exercises for 30 minutes. Practice singing All Of You, Angel Eyes, Kiss, and Paranoid Android. Practice the chromatic scale for ten minutes. Do the first five lessons in the Hal Leonard book. Practice Amazing Grace and I Got A Woman for thirty minutes. Ask Noah about the CD.

Friday
^{11:00am until 2:00pm}

Saturday
^{10:00 until 12:00pm}

what happened

I rolled out of bed and went to work. Diane gave me magazines. We had our final Game call. I did not practice my guitar last night, but I will catch up during the week.

details

(Read the rest on my LiveJournal page if you are on my ‘friends’ list)

gratitude

I’m also grateful for having met Kim seven years ago. She is a lovely person: smart, funny, stylish, and quirky. We had our problems, but our marriage was mostly love and friendship. She is very much into moods and environments, so her life has an amazing soundtrack. One of the first things I found out about her was her fondness for ambient music. During our first conversation on the phone, she told me that she liked to fall asleep to Musical Starstreams. She introduced me to Dzhihan and Kamien, Kings of Convenience, and Zero 7.

I’m grateful to Diane for bringing me a stack of magazines. The Economist, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and a bunch more. She’s a kind, supportive person. I met her at our training last year. I created a poster during the training that she liked. When she transferred to Southlake, she would introduce me as “an amazing artist.” She compliments me for how I handle the phones. I’d like to be half as positive as her, toward the rest of the folks at work.

Today I am grateful for the cup of coffee that I bought at Starbucks. Sure, it cost five times as much as gasoline. But it was delicious. Smoky, earthy, sweet rich COFFEE! I’m grateful to the farmers in Bolivia who grew the plants, to the enterprising folks who roasted and ground up the beans, and to the technology and corporation that delivered it to my doorstep.

possible futures

It is June 2009. I can play a dozen serious songs on my guitar. I have worked through the first two books of the Hal Leonard Guitar Method. I’m taking lessons once a week with Nathan’s jazz guitarist friend to work on my technique. I’ve done enough voice work that I’ve greatly improved my speaking voice and diction. I’ve finally began to reach a strong middle and high singing voice —I can move fluidly up and down my range with ease and a beautiful, full tone. My car is in the shop getting a paint job and tinted windows. I’ve fixed my bank account, payed off most of ADS, and bought a laptop. I’m enrolled for the second summer term at UTA. I’ve put in my “move me to part-time” request at Apple. I’ve finished the basic design of my website and bought my domain names.

It is June 2009. I work part-time at Apple and three nights a week at the Italian Inn. The rest of my time I spend practicing the guitar and singing. I spend at least two hours and as many as seven hours a day with the instrument. It is my passion, my life (at least for the time being). I wake up at six, practice for three hours, go to work, come home and practice for another three hours. I run for forty-five minutes a day to improve my wind and endurance. I take lessons at Ridglea and play with Nathan’s friend twice a week to work on my technique. My goal is to learn twenty songs in the next three months.

what happened

Work. Sleep.

details

My sleeping schedule has been erratic. I go to bed late, then get up early, then sleep really late. I need to get a fix on it, so that I’m making time to practice for two or more hours each day. (Read the rest on my LiveJournal page if you are on my ‘friends’ list)

gratitude

Today I am grateful for Thanksgiving leftovers. My Mom cooked a ridiculous amount of food. I especially love her homemade dinner rolls. She makes them from scratch and they are oh, so good. She also does cakes, pies, dressing, sweet potatoes, greens and a lot more. This year, it was just my parents, me and my little sister, so we’ll be working through leftovers for a while.

I’m also grateful for the bustling holiday crowds at work. We’re not going out of business anytime soon. There were hundreds of people in the store from the time we opened until the time I left. It keeps things interesting. I never have a moment to stand around and be bored.

Today I’m grateful for my U2 playlist. I have over half of their albums including War, Achtung Baby, and Joshua Tree. New Years Day, Where the Streets Have No Name, Love is Blindness, Light My Way, Drowning Man, With or Without You...good shit

possible futures

It is October 2009. I’m in the middle of my semester at UTA, my first full-time semester back at school. I’m taking philosophy and biology classes to fix my GPA (and loving every minute of it!) My classes are going well—I put in twenty or more hours a week studying. I’m reading very challenging material in my philosophy classes: Plato, Wittgenstein, Moore, Popper, and Gareth Evans. I take my time, reading, thinking, and writing about philosophy. I am training to be a professor when I grow up, after all.

I have a car! Tinted windows, a nice stereo, and a new paint job make it pleasant to drive. I have a kick-ass wardrobe—funky pants, crazy vests and scarves, nice shoes. The weather is changing so I wear lots of jackets and sweaters. My tattoos are beginning to shape up: beautiful black and red sleeves and back decorations

I have taught myself enough guitar that I can accompany myself while I sing. I sing and play on the weekends at the restaurant. I’m still practicing for ten to twenty hours a week. I get lost in my music. Each day is an adventure, a new chord change to master, a new scale to run. I can play up and down the fret board, and I’m building a respectable library of chords and scales. I buy an album a week for my jazz and funk collection. I alternate between vintage vinyl and CDs. My collection is approaching 20,000 songs. I’m saving up for my first decent acoustic guitar. In the meantime, I spend a lot of time at Aaron’s house, playing with his toys and talking about life and music.

Life is good.

bulk of them in .wav format. Now I’m carting the decent ones off to Half Price books. I feel lighter already. :o

Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns Four Play

Zapp and Roger I Can Make You Dance

Average White Band Cut the Cake

One Way Cutie Pie

Cameo Freaky Dancin’

Ohio Players Climax

Cold Blood Kissing My Love

The Meters Chug Chug Chug Chug-A-Lug

what happened

The FUTURE happened. I’ve been keeping a journal of my best possible futures. I’ve also been learning to play the guitar, working at Apple, completing an exciting project, and living at my Mom’s house until Kim and I work things out.

details

(You can read the details on my LiveJournal page if you are on my ‘friends’ list) I’ve finally posted the full entry here.

gratitude

Today I’m grateful to live in one of the most high technology societies in the history of the world. I’m not rich, but I get to sit and type on a powerful computer, download my music to a hard drive, and scan all the images on a very high resolution scanner/printer/copier. All from the comfort of my living room. I’m also grateful that I work for one of the world’s leading consumer technology companies, Apple computer. Apple is on a meteoric rise and it’s fun to be aboard the spaceship. I get paid a decent wage, I have health benefits, I have fun at work, and I get a great discount on some of the best consumer technology available.

Today, I’m also grateful for my CD collection. I’ve bought a few dozen excellent CDs at bargain prices over the past ten years. Between resale shops and Amazon, I’ve managed to spend only a few hundred dollars for many hours of excellent music. Wynton Marsalis, John Scofield, Dizzy Gillespie, Christian McBride, the Beatles, John Coltrane, Chili Peppers, Nas, and many others.

Today I am grateful for my flexible Moleskine journal. I was reluctant to switch from the beautiful red ones that I’ve been using for the past year. I’m glad I took the plunge. They wear much more nicely than the hardcover ones, I get to keep my quad ruling, and it fits on my hip perfectly. These are the perfect journals.

From my latest Moleskine:

Funk Muffins brainstorm

Crazy Creative Love Story Cool Shows Concept Spaceships Manga Super Mario Aliens Uniforms Boy Scouts Girl Scouts Housewives in Drag Psychedelia Mascots Makeup Porn Baseball ZombiesZombie Porn Beer Vodka Darkness Sunshine Eclipses Shakespeare Cowboys Bodybuilders Camo Guns French Food Money Nascar Candy Hare Krishnas Indian mythology Rama Arjuna Krishna’s Kids Shadow puppets Balinese Soviet Patriotism lights props movies EXPLOSIONS interactive projectors scarves Wigs, Wigs, WIGS! Gears Mechanical shit Japanese pop art Hairdressers

Bands to check out

J.P.s moderately cool bands

1. Muse
2. the Chemical Brothers
3. Andre Bird
4. No Doubt

Ben’s very cool bands

1. Cold War Kids
2. Band of Horses
3. Minus the Bear
4. the Shins
5. the National
6. Vampire Weekend

Stephie’s uber cool bands

1. Spiritualized
2. Stars
3. Broken Social Scene
4. Helios
5. Emiliana Torrini
6. Her Space Holiday

possible futures

I am 38 years old. I have just finished my Ph.D at Cal State Berkeley. I’m in a tenure track program, finishing my first research projects in cognitive neuroscience. I’ve worked as a research assistant and assistant teacher for the past four years. I have begun to refine my approach to teaching. My classes are a combination of philosophical inquiry, psychology survey, therapy, and behavioral lab. I’m the zany grad professor with dreds and tattoos. Words like ‘heady’ and ‘life-changing’ are beginning to pop up in my year end evaluations. I’m studying emotion and behavior in the lab.

Four nights a week, I gig with my band. We play an eclectic blend of funk, soul, and jazz. Our influences include Curtis Mayfield, Prince, Roland Kirk, Mediski, Martin, & Wood, and Larry Graham. We are beginning to build a local following because of our reputation for wild, theatrical stage shows. We wear zany costumes and incorporate crazy multimedia art into our stage shows.

I’m beginning to find my stride as a musician – I’ve practiced my guitar for long enough that I can play long, intricate improvised grooves. My composing skills are also beginning to mature.

George Duke Reach for It

Grant Green Let the Music Take Your Mind

Donald Byrd Black Jack

Quincy Jones Hikky-Burr

I bought tweezers for the eyebrows, tools for shaping and polishing the nails, a blow dryer, stronger shampoo for my scalp, Tend Skin (a miraculous product for razor bumps), Dove soap, and lavender oil. It’s kinda fun, taking better care of myself.

to my long-range and short-range goals. I need to fix my car

1. to go back to school,
2. to finish my undergrad degree in psychology,
3. to get into a top Ph.D program in nueroscience,
4. to become an assistant professor at UT Austin,
5. to become a tenured professor of cognitive neuroscience at UC Stanford.

It would also be nice to not have to ride a bicycle, unless I wanted to.

• Do thirty minutes of singing exercises
• Practice guitar for thirty minutes
• Practice Angel Eyes, I’ve Got A Woman, Charade, and All of You for thirty minutes

• Dress like a funk musician today

2. WEAVE A TAPESTRY of COMPASSION. Make my life a place of warmth and joy for the people who pass through it.

• Pick Hanan up from school and take her downtown for icecream
• Call Latifah
• Call Munir

• Cash my check and put gas in Mom’s car
• Pay my Sprint bill

• Apply for a GYO
• Call Baseemah about the Texas R Commision
• Write my strengths based plan for the rest of this week: share it with B. and/or D.
• Memorize the prices for the MacBook Pros

• Do thirty minutes of singing exercises
• Practice guitar for thirty minutes
• Practice “Angel Eyes” and “All of You” for thirty minutes

2. WEAVE A TAPESTRY of COMPASSION. Make my life a place of warmth and joy for the people who pass through it.

• Catch 3 people doing something good at work today
• Call Latifah
• Call Munir

• Figure out transportation for Thursday

1. Get a full-time job

_{I got a job at Apple retail as a concierge. I’m shaping the role to play to my strengths. Having health insurance is a huge relief: I can afford to buy the drugs I need to live a normal life.}

2. Fix my car

a. Finish paying off the loan ($1,500.00)

1. Find out from dad the exact amount I owe   ($2,752.00)
2. Calculate a reasonable time to finish paying it off

b. Buy and install a new engine ($2,000.00)

1. Call and get quotes on the parts
2. Call and get quotes on the labor
3. Write down a timeline
4. Find out whether or not I’m nuts to consider doing it myself

c. Fix the dents and get a paint job ($400.00)

1. Call and get a few quotes
2. Set a date to do it
   
   

3. Get my finances in order

a. Pay Chase the $400.00 I owe them

b. Fix my Sprint account

1. Catch up on my bill ($200.00)
2. Find out when my contract ends   February 22, 2009
3. Put Apple’s discount on my bill
4. Get Mom to put me on her plan when my contract ends

c. Defer my school loans again

d. Fix my ADS account

e. Get another job

4. Restore my integrity

a. Keep my promises

1. Help Dad with his event
2. Follow my plans (especially the ones I announce)
3. Buy Kim’s supplement that I ruined
4. Pay Kim her $14.99
5. Volunteer three times at the homeless shelter
6. Send Flash a batch of Funk Muffins
7. Pay to have Kim’s window re-tinted

b. Don’t steal

1. Never eat Dad’s food
2. Back up the hard drive and return it to the museum

c. Build back bridges

1. Apologize to S.
2. Apologize to T.
3. Send an e-mail to L.

• Do thirty minutes of singing exercises
• Practice the chromatic scale on the guitar for twenty minutes
• Practice “I Got A Woman” on the guitar for twenty minutes
• Practice “Angel Eyes” and “All of You” for thirty minutes
• Read a few chapters from my music theory book

• Workout for an hour and fifteen minutes
  
  • Do strength training for a half hour
  • Practice handstands for twenty minutes
  • Do forms for thirty minutes

2. WEAVE A TAPESTRY of COMPASSION. Make my life a place of warmth and joy for the people who pass through it.

• Take care of Kim while she recovers from her wisdom-teeth pulling
• Call Hanan
• Call Munir
• Scan in a few dozen of Mom’s photos

• Buy my meds
• Cash my check, deposit money, and pay ADS

in June, but I gave myself until the end of July as a challenge. If I practice three days a week for the next three weeks, I’ll mark it “done.” I just have to

a) take my meds earlier so that I can,
b) wake up earlier on days that I work, because I’ll be,
c) following a schedule that I will
d) write in my little red notebook.

If none of this works, I’ll just try it again in August.

but I am not satisfied with it. There are too many songs that I don’t love.

• Do thirty minutes of singing exercises
• Practice the chromatic scale on the guitar for twenty minutes
• Practice “I Got A Woman” on the guitar for twenty minutes
• Practice “Angel Eyes” and “All of You” for thirty minutes
• Read a few chapters from my music theory book

• Workout for an hour and fifteen minutes
  • Do strength training for a half hour
  • Practice handstands for five minutes
• Go to Christopher’s Tae-kwon-do class

2. WEAVE A TAPESTRY of COMPASSION. Make my life a place of warmth and joy for the people who pass through it.

• Call Munir
• Call Hanan
• Scan in a few dozen of Mom’s photos
• Read a few chapters of Gottman’s book

• Burn CDs of Kim’s “Compilation’s” folder to free up some space on her hard drive

• Do thirty minutes of singing exercises
• Practice the chromatic scale on the guitar for twenty minutes
• Practice “I Got A Woman” on the guitar for twenty minutes

• Workout for an hour and fifteen minutes
  
  • Ride bicycle (six miles in forty minutes, six miles in 24 minutes)
  • Meditate (20 minutes)

2. WEAVE A TAPESTRY of COMPASSION. Make my life a place of warmth and joy for the people who pass through it.

• Call Munir
• Text Hanan

• Cook rice and beans for lunch
• Renew library books
• Tidy room
• Shower and dress

• Read a chapter in my Leopard book
• Memorize the prices of the 15” MacBook Pros

Parliament


Rick James


Earth, Wind, and Fire


Zapp and Roger


Stevie Wonder


One Way


the Brothers Johnson


Prince

• Do thirty minutes of singing exercises
• Practice the chromatic scale on the guitar for twenty minutes
• Practice “I Got A Woman” on the guitar for twenty minutes
• Practice “Angel Eyes” for twenty minutes

• Workout for an hour and fifteen minutes
  
  • Ride bicycle (six miles in forty minutes, six miles in 24 minutes)
  • Weight train (30 minutes)
  • Practice forms (20 minutes)
  • Meditate (20 minutes)
• Plan my workouts for the week

2. WEAVE A TAPESTRY of COMPASSION. Make my life a place of warmth and joy for the people who pass through it.

• Call Latifah
• Call Munir
• Text Hanan

• Refresh my “Get my shit together” list
• Cook lunch
• Wash/dye clothes
• Clean out my bags
• Wash my hair

• Refresh my “Get my shit together” list
• Call Dr. Bernstein

• Do twenty minutes of singing exercises
• Practice scales for twenty minutes
• Practice “I Got A Woman” for thirty minutes

• Workout for an hour and fifteen minutes
  
  • Practice handstands (20 minutes)
  • Ride bicycle (six miles in forty minutes, six miles in 24 minutes)
  • Weight train (25 minutes)
  • Meditate (20 minutes)
• Plan my workouts for the week

3. WEAVE A TAPESTRY of COMPASSION. Make my life a place of warmth and joy for the people who pass through it.

• Call Latifah
• Call Munir
• Text Hanan