a show and stuff.
in Funny Stuff, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as Bronx, business, cab, cab driver, Carrington, city, fingers, Jess, kind, music business, nobody, show, time, vegan desserts, way
I played a show tonight. The piano was less than in tune, but I coaxed some music out of it anyway. Poor little old thing; nobody’s perfect, right? People came and listened, which is always so amazing. Someone even told me they cried. Fingers crossed that it wasn’t because of the out of tune piano.
People said very kind things afterwards.
People are so kind.
Some people, anyway.
Then a big group of us went to a vegan place. I tasted some desserts that didn’t taste vegan. It was kind of amazing. A few more people met us there, so I sang some songs for them outside of the restaurant.
That’s when Carrington was walking by, heard me, and asked me for my number.
“I’m in the music business,” he told me.
Sure, I thought.
But I gave him my number anyway.
“What a perfect way to get a girl’s number!” said the guy next to me, watching the whole thing. “All I need to do is say I’m in the music business.”
Then another friend mentioned Carrington. “I guess he does music at his university or something,” I said.
“No, Jess–he said he works for Universal.”
“What? I thought he said he works at his university.”
“I heard Universal.”
Carrington texted tonight and said he would call tomorrow. We’ll see. And now I’m curious as to where, exactly, Carrington works. His university? Or Universal? Pretty big difference between the two. And I have learned that people like to talk. A lot. Maybe they mean well; maybe they totally mean to come through. But a lot of times, they don’t.
Anyway.
Tonight was lovely.
Out of tune piano and all.
There’s really not much else I’d rather be doing than singing my songs for people.
And tasting vegan desserts that don’t taste vegan.
Okay, so I can think of a few things I’d rather be doing than that last one, I guess.
Like singing my songs, for instance.
Oh–and last thing. I took a cab home. The cab driver got terribly lost. Not just once, but twice. The first time, I suggested he turn off his meter, since he was lost and all. He didn’t. The second time, I told him to turn off his meter.
“It’s not my fault that I’m new and am not familiar with the Bronx,” he told me.
“Sure, that’s fne. But you’re a New York City cab driver. You should know the city and I should not pay more because you don’t,” I replied.
And then he got angry. Said it was my fault. Said I could get out “right here, right now!”
“Okay, I’ll get out, but I’m not paying you anything.”
“You can pay me $10,” he answered.
“For dropping me off in the middle of nowhere in the Bronx at 2:30 in the morning? No. I am not paying you.”
Which is when he angrily pulled over and told me to get out.
I kind of thought it was hilarious that I got into a fight with my cabbie. You guys, I hardly get into fights with anyone. I also felt proud of myself for sticking to my guns. And then I realized that I really had no idea where I was, it was late, and there was nary a cab driver to be found.
But a car service beeped at me.
I got in.
He gave me a discount–”because you’re pretty,” he told me.
He also asked me why I don’t have a baby yet.
“I need a man first,” I told him. “I’m looking for a really good baby daddy.”
Which is when he told me that he’s on his second wife and this one talks way too much.
Oy vey.
“And if we get separated,” he explained, “I guess I’ll move to Mexico or something.”
“Trust me,” I said. “New York City is big enough for both you and an Ex. I, myself, have one here in the city and we never run into each other.”
And it’s true. Gone are the days of living in a small town and running into him in Acme at midnight. Thank goodness.
Favorite quote of the night from a girl: “Whoever you were singing about–the guy who did that to you and lost you–is a f***ing idiot. I mean, I’m straight as an arrow and I was falling in love tonight, just watching and listening to you.
Like I said, people say very kind things sometimes.
high-five.
in Thoughts and Feelings
as apparent reason, bucket, city, city streets, hand, home, Inwood, italian city, italian poster, little man, older men, reason, rubber man, sort, street, today, tootsie, tootsie rolls, way, younger men
I hurriedly walked through the wet city streets, making my way home from the gym early this evening. I clutched my customary six tootsie rolls in my right hand. Yes, six. I work out, then I pick out six tootsie rolls from the huge bucket that presents itself on the way out. I always feel [...]
what the????
in Funny Stuff, there are pictures here
as administrative assistant, answering phones, apartment, asset management firm, assistant, black eye, city, cover, creative projects, flexible hours, girl, home, house, life, midtown, part time work, playfulness, response, tons of fun, way
Here it is. Documented. My black eye. I suppose it will teach me to pay better attention in capoeira. And in life. Because tonight I was coming back from Brooklyn (I was doing this in Brooklyn!)– and I might as well have been coming back from my parents’ house in PA–it took me that long to [...]
in the rain.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Thoughts and Feelings
as cats and dogs, city, city rain, cold city, front desk, grand central station, jack, jack daniels, love, niagra, phone, plastic, raining cats and dogs, sips, skin, sun, thought, time, ukelele
I just spent some time in a hot shower, washing off the cold city rain. Replacing it with some soap. Actually, I’m so tired right now that I cannot remember if I actually used soap in the shower. It’s a nice thought, though. I’d like to think that all of life is so simple. You [...]
some things I am thinking.
in Thoughts and Feelings
as breeze, breezes, city, date, different things, easy fit, fact that people, foreheads, half, home, interesting things, Jump, last time, lightening bolt, month of july, old adage, pair, portuguese, portuguese words, prayer, premarital sex, Rolling, scar, sex, skin, skirts, today, way, while
I am glad I didn’t die a year and a half ago; that is one prayer that I am grateful God decided not to grant. I would not have wanted to miss today. Did you see it? Feel it on your skin? It was like the breezes were chasing each other, and one of them [...]
show. uke. commas. creepy.
in Funny Stuff, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as beautiful song, bitter end, choice, city, damn girl, doorman, end, girl, grand finale, home, kind, martin guitar, question marks, show, singer, singer songwriter, tennis player, uke, ukelele
Today was a momentous day. And I got home early. Like, before midnight. Whoa. First, Larry from The Bitter End here in the city called me to schedule me to play at one of their Sunday singer songwriter shows. It’s going down July 31st, folks. I mentioned it tonight to some of my capoeira friends, [...]
she lives here and there and everywhere and nowhere.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Thoughts and Feelings
as beauty, city, Gershwin, girlhood, green pennsylvania, grit, movement, music and rhythm, pennsylvania streams, rhythm, Score, seat, single woman, skyline, subway, trills, unexpected rhythms, vast blue sky
I like it here in the city, I really do. But then there are times like tonight, when I really miss the stars. There is beauty in both places–here in the industrial grit and higher-than-I-usually-even-bother-looking skyline; and there in the tumbling hills and woods of green Pennsylvania. Just yesterday I was sitting, waiting for my [...]
thinking in sentences and writing it down.
in Funny Stuff, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as ALERT, area 51, body mind and spirit, city, communist china, course, kind, mind, mind and spirit, nephew, nieces, puppy, sentences, Shane, Somebody, something, tonight, way, wildlife, willow
Okay, so these are some thoughts. And…here goes: I was informed that the water in New Orleans is getting high and displacing some wildlife. Thus, the city has issued a SNAKE ALERT. That is what you call BAMF. Tonight The Paper Janes rocked. Oh, it was fun. I felt it in my bones. And my [...]
