I know better.
in Funny Stuff, Performance, Thoughts and Feelings
as accordion, baby, brooklyn, cab driver, cake shop, conversation, doozy, happenstance, nobody, one of those days, question, random news, right, something, SPEAKER--if, sweet lady, tdbank, vowel
Right now, I am laying in a bed with freshly washed sheets, thinking about the things I said recently that made me sound rather moronic. Like, when I asked the guy in Brooklyn–WHEN HE WAS CLEARLY LUGGING AROUND A SPEAKER–if that was his accordion.
He had told me that he played the organ and something about the vowel sounds in organ made me think of the word accordion, and so, when I ran into him a little bit later by happenstance, I asked, “Oh! is THAT your accordion, then?”
Looking at the black, rectangular speaker that he was rolling around via dolly, he quietly answered, “It’s actually a speaker.”
I know that. I KNOW that. I know the difference between a speaker and an accordion. Oh, man.
But, that’s not nearly as bad as last night, when I asked a sweet lady the question that I know nobody should ask. Not unless you actually SEE a baby crowning, do you assume a woman is pregnant.
But, what did I do last night? After I played at the Cake Shop, I met a couple who just missed my performance because a cab driver had gotten them lost (and they aren’t from the city). Often, I try to talk to people about themselves; I don’t like all the attention on me, so I will include their lives in the conversation. So I said, “Oh my gosh! And you’re pregnant?!”
“No…I just had a baby…”
What do you say then? JUST KIDDING? You can’t. I ran right on ahead to the congratulations part of the conversation, but still.
I KNOW NOT TO ASSUME THAT.
Just like I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SPEAKER AND AN ACCORDION.
Now to actually act like I know these things, I suppose.
Oh well, the good (and random) news is that my sheets are clean. And so are my clothes at the moment.
Tomorrow is one of those days that is a bit of a doozy. A good doozy, don’t get me wrong, but a doozy, nonetheless. I have a rehearsal for an industrial gig for TDBank from 6-10 pm (which I am in charge of! Hello, my name is Jessica and I hardly like to be in charge of anything. Except maybe decorating my family’s Christmas tree. And, okay, some baking projects)–and right after that, I have to run on over to Sleep No More’s Story Telling concert in which I am getting all fancified up for in a vintage dress, some fishnets, and heels (thanks for the kicks, Bets!). While there, I will sing some songs–one of them being an eminem song on the ukulele. Another one being Sweet Child of Mine on the uke. And then another in which I get to play the piano (thank goodness!) and am just singing some background vocals (thank goodness again!).
I am actually really excited for it. Collaborating with other musicians–super talented musicians–is like getting to share the wealth. Wealth being music, in this case.
Hopefully, during this doozy of a day I will not say anything extraordinarily ignorant, rude, or stupid.
Here’s hoping.
It’ll do. All of it.
in Performance
as behavior, body, brooklyn, business, cheese, good behavior, grand idea, grilled cheese sandwich, Honestly, kind, Leão, nobody, open mic, rap, subway, tomato, tomato soup, uke, ukulele, Village
What a night.
I got a Facebook message from a guy I
met at an open mic in the Village a few
weeks ago. “I’m hosting an open mic in Brooklyn,” he wrote. “Will you come and play? There’s no piano, but we sure can mic a ukulele like nobody’s business.”
So, first I hung out with my friend Leao for a bit. He reinforced that nobody–NOBODY!–I meet on the subway or the street–or anywhere, for that matter–wants to be my friend.
“They all want more,” he said.
“You don’t, ” I pointed out.
And I thought it was a pretty darn good point, actually.
Then I took capoeira and got all sweaty. Something that always amazes me when it happens. My poor, overheated body so rarely sweats, that when it does, I feel like it’s deserving of a treat. You know, reinforcing good behavior and all that.
So, I got a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. And what a great treat that was. Honestly, all I ever want lately is grilled cheese and tomato soup. It’s like my body has a grilled cheese and tomato soup deficiency or something, I crave it so much.
And then I jumped on the train to Brooklyn to go play some uke and rap and sing. When I got there, Chris, the host, greeted me with his uncle. “I hear you’re fantastic at the ukulele!” the uncle said to me. Which made me laugh. Because, really, I can strum some chords, and that’s about the extent of it. There are some things I am fantastic at doing. I’m
pretty good at bargain hunting. I think my family would say that I’m a good daughter and a good sister. I’m not bad at being disciplined, as a general rule. And I can write some songs. But playing the uke is not something at which I’m fantastic. Not yet, anyway.
Then Chris tells me that I’m the featured artist. Oh. That I can play as much as I’d like. Oh, again. The place is small, so really, we just share the night. He and his friend play. Then I go. I basically play all my songs that I know on the uke. Then someone has the grand idea that we all play together. Which was amazing. Cause soon, we’re singing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. And Let it Be. And Landslide. And Respect. It was magical.
My friend Jes was kind enough to come, too. And she brought a friend of hers. It was the sort of good night that makes me so happy to be in New York City.
this is what it feels like.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Loved Ones, Thoughts and Feelings
as beautiful mess, beauty, Cheesecake, cheesecake factory, date, dear friend, God, Happy, heartache, kind, long time, mess, nobody, own skin, progress, relationship, respect life, skin, survivors, time
About every few months or so (sometimes longer, sadly) a dear friend of mine and I get together for a date. She lives pretty far away, and now even further, considering that I spend a lot of my time in NYC these days. We usually meet at the Cheesecake Factory. She doesn’t have one where [...]
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. [...]
friday night.
in Funny Stuff, Thoughts and Feelings
as access, banana, bathroom, big mistake, cab, cab driver, cabbie, dominican music, eighty six, exit, fool, girl, home, kind, Leão, mistake, morning, nobody, nope, order, Palenta, privet, random place, six cents, Spalenka, Times Square, traffic jam, train, Uh-oh, way, wonderful girl, wrong way
I just bought a banana from a random place in Times Square in order to gain access to their bathroom at 2:30 in the morning. And nope, I didn’t even eat the banana. But it was eighty-six cents well spent, I can tell you that. I just took a cab home because I was too [...]
just saying no.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Thoughts and Feelings
as brain cells, columbus day, day, direction, google, google maps, Grand, grand central station, hook ups, issue, Latshaw, life, nobody, sex, sex with strangers, smoking, smoking weed, terminal, town girl
No, thank you. That’s not gonna work for me. Nope. Actually, I can’t. No. Let me say that in Spanish for you, in case it wasn’t clear: No. This lesson is continuing to rear its uncomfortable head over and over again in my life. The issue of saying no. And I’m not talking about The [...]
sucks to suck.
in Funny Stuff, Thoughts and Feelings
as car, car thief, deep breath, door, dream world, favorite phrase, home, house, key ring, kid, kind, kind of sentence, nobody, purse, sentence, Shane, sister, sister jenna, starbursts
Last night was a tough one. And then I finally got home at 2:00 am and was all ready to trade the real world for the dream world, but before that could happen, I had to open up a door to my parents’ house to, you know, get inside. deep breath. Cause that was the [...]
sunday’s a comin’! and lately, darling reeeeemix
in I Lift My Eyes Up, MP3
as comin, good, good friday, ground, ish, Jesus, life, lyric, nobody, pop, reeeeemix, reminder, savior of the world, story
Today my pop spoke in church. He spoke about Easter. Imagine that. But specifically, he spoke about how sometimes life feels like Friday. Good Friday, I mean. The day when Jesus died and was buried. The hope, the savior of the world, was put in the ground, cold and dead. I cannot imagine. What an [...]
