Broadening my horizons

I started this blog with the sole intention of using it as an outlet for my writing.  I missed writing for fun, about things that genuinely interested me or that I felt passionately about.  But, while this blog has been serving its purpose, I still felt like it was lacking something.  My posts have been few and far between.  Even though I'm happy with the quality and content of what I've written thus far, I am upset with the inconsistency and sporadic nature of my posting.  I want to write more but I don't want to force topics on myself; I want it to come naturally and be genuine.

As I was sitting at work last night, bored silly with watching teenagers flirt and complain about how bored they were, I had a lot of time to reflect on the current state of my own life.  I have been content for a while with the routine nature of it.  I'm a creature of habit.  But, all of a sudden, I was forced into a situation where I have no choice but to contemplate a new career and new living situation.  There are some serious life changes on the verge of taking place.  I am frustrated and terrified beyond what words can describe.  However, despite all the thoughts and fears swirling around in my head, I am able to see clearly that this is a defining time in my life.  The decisions I make are going to greatly affect my future.  Do I pursue a career in line with my educational background in Criminal Justice and Forensic Science?  Do I stay within the music industry?  Do I stay at my current job and try to find some other way to make ends meet?  My current job is entertaining, to put it mildly, and definitely has its perks.  Or do I go outside of all of those areas and take on something entirely new?  Do I stay in CT?  Do I stay in New England?  Do I move back to NY?  Or do I up and move all the way across the country to Los Angeles?

While I'm not as old as I feel or act at times (I didn't get the nickname "Grandma" for nothin'), I can say that the way we document our lives currently is much different than it was when I was younger.  As I was growing up, and even into my first few years of college, we had hard copies of our life events.  We took real pictures with real film that we could place into albums or scrapbooks.  We wrote in a notebook and called it our diary or our journal.  Life now is very much Internet-based.  Digital images end up on Facebook and Instagram and the like.  They're sent to our families and friend in emails, not tucked away in a card.  Our thoughts are sent out as status updates on multiple platforms.  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against this.  I myself am guilty of having, and regularly using, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr accounts.  I have a lonely little myspace account that hasn't been logged into in ages and had Friendster "back in the day."  I've published my writing on two blogs.  The only issue I really take with this "digital life" most of us lead is the scattered nature of it.  My photos, ticket stubs, handwritten captions aren't all sitting there on a single page for me to turn to and reminisce. 

Now that I've gone off on a bit of tangent, let me get back to the point at hand.  I've made a decision to expand on the content of this blog.  To share and document my everyday life.  While it may not be a physical scrapbook or diary, it is one link I can refer to and reflect on my life whenever I choose; I won't have to scour multiple sites to look back on all the inevitable changes that will be taking place.  The meatier, quality writing will not disappear; it will just have some filler in between when my creativity and deep interests are on hiatus.  For me, this blog will be a cohesive, pseudo-collection of the moments in my life.  Hopefully, those of you who have been super supportive of my writing on here will find yourselves entertained with the anecdotes, photos, and other things that will be popping up in the coming days and weeks as well!

A Tuesday Night Musical Discovery

Guys, I've fallen in love...with a little band from Nashville, Tennessee.

Today is my roommate's birthday (happy birthday, Morgan!) so a bunch of friends got together for fun and drinks last night.  We started off the evening at Elm Bar, with the intention of playing pool (it never happened).  As we sat in our corner of the bar, we came to realize that the evening was featuring live music.  There was a small crowd of maybe 25 people, our group making up more than half of it and the remainder consisting of performers, staff, and regulars.  I wasn't too keen on the first act so I stepped outside for a smoke and some conversation but, boy oh boy, am I glad I made it back in before the second act went on stage.

From the second Channing & Quinn approached the tiny stage, I knew they would be right up my alley.  I know you can't/shouldn't judge a book by its cover but everything about them screamed "Becky's going to love this!"  From Quinn's well manicured sideburns and vest to Channing's adorable dress, which easily could have either been vintage or pulled straight from the Dear Creatures lookbook, to her wonderful red curls, they just had a vibe about them that lured me in.  The smiles and warm greetings they gave the small crowd didn't hurt either.

As soon as they started playing, I was sold.  Channing's voice was incredible.  With each song, I kept hearing hints of vocalists I adore: Shingai Shoniwa (of the Noisettes), Leslie Feist, and Zooey Deschanel, in particular.  The mystery of the random board on stage was solved during the first song (accompanied by the realization that Channing was wearing tap shoes) when she started tapping along.

With each passing song, my adoration grew.  Channing sang, played the glockenspiel, tambourine, a cymbal, and a kazoo and tapped a bit more.  Quinn switched from guitar, to banjo, to bass drum, to ukulele, to accordion.  Their original material was creative and their covers were no less impressive (The Doors and Willie Nelson were seen in a whole new light).  They had the charisma and talent to warrant a much larger crowd but the intimate setting made it all the more wonderful for a first time experience.  I swear, my cheeks hurt from smiling; that's how happy their music made me.    

I purchased the CDs they had available and I've been listening to them at my desk all day ("The Vanishing Act" has been experiencing a lot of repeat play).  While I should be pinching pennies right now, the expenditure was well worth it.  They are a talented duo whom I wish the best success for.  Not only are they great musicians, in the short time my friends and I spent speaking with them, it was clear they are great people as well (Channing gave the birthday girl a free CD!).  They have a few tour dates left in the Northeast and I strongly encourage my friends to check them out before they head back south.