conversations and narrative.

“I just need to be back by one tonight,” my friend Shane said, after deciding we’d go play an open mic to try to wrangle a new gig (which we did, by the way).

“Okay, what do you have to do at one?” I asked, being nosy.

“I have to watch an eclipse with Michael.” he said.

“That vampire love story movie?” I asked.

“Heck no.” he said, “The one in the sky. The lunar eclipse.”

Which is why I am rather cold, having just stolen out of my bed and stood outside on the porch in shorts and a t-shirt, watching it. It’s beautiful. It’s the kind of thing that makes you glad to be here still, despite some other things that would lead you to think otherwise. It’s a picture that I will keep in my mind. Strong and good and pure, like words of encouragement.

Yesterday we played a show at Mojo Main in Newark. The organization of the event was less than perfect. We, however, wanted to play at ten o’clock, though the sound man hadn’t told us definitively when we would play.

“Let me talk to him,” I told Shane, and resolutely walked over there.

“Hi,” I said, smiling at the sound guy.

“Hi. I’m single and a cancer,” he said.

“Okay, I’m single, too…”

When recounting this conversation to Shane, he was like, “You actually TOLD him that?!”

“Yes,” I said, “We wanted to play at ten. And guess what, it worked.”

And it did. The guy also asked me to fly out to San Francisco with him for New Year’s Eve. I told him that was too big of a commitment, because, really, all I wanted to absolutely plan on was playing at ten. Besides, the idea of dating is strange to me. So a multiple hour, cross country date with someone I don’t know sounds completely awful to me.

And I try to steer clear of completely awful, if I can help it.

Just another boundary I like to maintain.

But spending time with fantastically beautiful people is something that I do love to do. Which is why I look forward to going to Boston next week with some good friends.

“Where are you playing in Boston?” Boy Wonder, the host at the World Cafe’s open mic, asked us tonight, when we mentioned we won’t be back for a bit.

“Oh–it’s kind of random, but we’re going there to work at an academic conference.”

Which is what me and some friends will be doing, starting the day after Christmas and ending the day before New Year’s Eve. I will be dressing business casual and helping candidates get placed for their interviews. Which is kind of like auditioning. Meaning that I will be helping people before their audition. And I totally know how that feels. So I am psyched to try my best to put them at ease. And to be on the other side of things, for once.

And, like I said, to spend some time with some good good people.