August 6th, 2010

August 5Th, 2010:

My good friend Robert stopped in today to have me analyze some rocks which he found at the local "Bear Lake" today. Usually, when one of my students graduate, I never really see them again, so I was happy to see Robert. Robert was one of the best teachers aides I've ever had. Kind of like Sherlock Holmes "Watson", Robert is one of the most unique students I've been lucky enough to teach. He is smart, intellectual, and had no problem correcting me when I occasionally proved to be an asshole. I have the utmost respect for Robert, and he is also a writer, which makes him a bit tortured, which I completely understand. Robert is A man of keen intellect, ideas, creativity, and a certain knack of telling an entire classroom to "Shut their pie holes", OK maybe not an exact quote. But the classroom generally listened to him!

We wound up hanging out for 6 or more hours, hitting a coffee shop, then to the local thrift store to buy me some much needed furniture, and a few other errands. Damn its

good to have another like minded friend in this town. Most adults around here bore the piss out of me. Most are money grubbing, baby making machines it seems. Few

can see the world that exists in between making money, and raising kids. Most of the people I've met that exist in this obscure world, turn out to be Writers. Artists seem to be more self centered and focused on their own egos. Writers, learn as much as they can about what is around them. Few are stupid. I am far more proud to call myself a "Writer" than to admit that I am also a visual Artist, and a decent Musician. Ego is a thing which is best avoided.

Tomorrow, Robert and I will attempt to get thousand dollar organ from the pad, that my son was forced to vacate after a mere 6 weeks. It was a scene from "Animal House", but the bastard should have moved my organ first, and not just left it there.

I really don't understand how some of today's kids are so selfish. Hopefully we will

be able to get it back, it would look great here in my apartment, plus I love playing it!

Spent the rest of the night listening to "John Teshes" late night soft rock radio show on a local station, where "John" dispenses practical wisdom in between songs. Not classical wisdom, but advice like: " The studies show that people with fewer computer programs are less likely to get viruses". I miss a lot of the old songs that he plays, and I am completely sick of hearing "classic rock" which consists of the same thirty songs it seems, with "Hotel California" and "Free bird", completely overplayed.

After a dinner of Indian "MRE" food, which consisted of potato and Chana "Chickpeas", washed down with a few beers, I was able to kick back and enjoy the

sights and sounds of my new place. The city has a pulse and a life of its own which

changes hour by hour. I remember the old line from a Doors song "The cars hiss by my window, like the waves, out on the beach", and can see the similarity between the sounds of waves and traffic, that Jim Morrison seemed to notice. Traffic is not one

constant sound but a mixture of many different sounds, which ebb and flow in their intensity. Growing up next to a busy road allows me to keep my windows open, with the radio sounding in the foreground, and the waves of traffic in the background. It is a beautiful mixture of sound, and I can also do some reading while listening to this grand symphony.

Today with Robert, I bought a vintage green chair on casters, so I can roll it where I need it, and a matching pair of well built end tables, that are relics from the 1950's, both the chair and tables were outdated but in mint condition, and seem to fit in the

120 year old apartment with no clashes whatsoever. I don't want a couch, since I don;t plan on many guests at once, plus I want to save the floor space for walking around, and possibly doing a few more paintings. I also will require a desk for writing but the only ones available were huge and heavy. I might use a small card table or something, but would prefer something a bit more classy, like some of the small antique roll top desks that I've seen. I do need to watch the money since I also

plan to buy a professional saxophone, which I can play at the top of this building late at night, once I regain a certain amount of proficiency, that I have lost over the years.

Just to learn "Blue Trane" by John Coltrane, and play it with feeling, is mainly what

I aspire to do. I know I can play it, but to play it with finesse and love, should prove a challenge. In order to accomplish all this painting, music, and writing, I plan to

not subscribe to Cable or Internet this year. Of course I explained all that in my last blog.

So far being TV less has been easy. We will see once the days get shorter, and the sidewalks icier.

The next morning, I got up and had to clean the camping stuff out of my trailer. Then picked up Robert and Luiz (another one of my ex-students), and we managed to lift the organ from Logan's old place and into the trailer. The hard part was lifting 400 pounds of Hammond Organ up two flights of stairs, but luckily my wonderful son and his buddy, helped us get her into the apartment. I was truly beat.

Saw a gorgeous black Mercedes"S500 sedan, at the local car lot. It was black as hell, with black rims and very low profile tires. The car appeared to be perfect, and with only 118,000 miles, I fell in love with this beauty. So I took it for a test drive and loved it. Until the black smoke started coming from under the hood. I'm sure its just a small issue, like a tiny amount of oil leaking onto the exhaust manifold, but still. The car is $9000, and would cost me $350 per month for the next two years, and it better be perfect! I really don't need a car, but it would be nice to have this one, if only I could trust it. Of course I would have to keep her in a storage shed during the winter, so it would be like being married to Pamela Anderson, while living in another country.

Now I am having a giant salad and a beer at the restaurant where my son works. Been sitting here for two hours working on my blog and paying some bills. But my stay is getting a bit stale, so its time to return to my loft, and get the organ set up, install the foot key board, and jam the night away.