A Promotion and My First Album of Original Tunes!

Hey there. I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

There's too much to say and my brain is even less of a single-file line than usual. All of the backlog's crowding toward my fingertips at once. Let's see what's in the bottleneck.

I now manage the A1 to Go whenever the owner's not around; that was a major step up. This job is great: I meet everybody in town; I network. I'm learning food, wine, and beer; I'm making more money now than I ever did as a banker. I'm given creative license and my boss treats me as an equal. As for being bumped into a boss position, if somebody needs to be told what to do, I don't mind telling them. And if I must yell, no problem. When somebody's earned it, I don't mind dressing them down.

I've made respectable money by busking on Water Street on warm days. One gal put a five in my hat, sidled up on my right, and kissed me on the cheek while I was singing. What a sweetheart.

One of my tax returns has already arrived, but I'm lost on how to celebrate. This would be an easier task if I got a charge out of getting drunk or hiring strippers or something.... my birthday's coming, too, and I'm unsure whether I want to plan a trip out of town or host a gathering or just stay home and work. Suggestions are welcome.

Meanwhile I'm downloading some music I've wanted to check out for a long time, like the band Low. The song "Tonight" from the album Trust had low female vocals—serious turn-on—and a nice guitar wash with minimal bass keeping things pinned down, marking the chord changes and turnarounds. I am a sucker for boy-girl harmonies in which the girl sings lower.

Sitting in this chair reminds me that I should hire the lovely Sarah Miller to rub out the damage I've done to my back, wrists, legs, and neck. The cafe has been hectic and my work-at-home habits don't relent either. This week won't be different: I'm doing a lot of music theory exploration on paper and strictly practicing guitar technique. I love playing jazz chord forms but I'm not in love with the sound of seventh chords; to me they sound like bad middle ground between more colorful chords (13ths and such) and the simpler triads with stronger tonics. Sevens sound too much like commas; I like my music to be full of ellipses and full stops.

For the next five days I'll be working double shifts on these songs for my first album, trying to make sure they get done by summertime. I don't want to spend the hot months cooped up in my writing room. The process of hammering this thing together out of scraps of wood and rusty nails is teaching me both efficiency and patience. My first novel has been moved to the background more than I'd like, but I had to make a cut somewhere.

Been sleeping eight or nine hours each night. Sleeping alone, but sleeping. I'll take it.

Thanks for reading; I'll be in touch soon.

-Nicholas