It’s hardly been a week since I’ve been back home in good old New Zealand, sleeping (mostly) in my own bed. That is, if and when I sleep at all…
These photos are from last week’s beach excursion with Lottie, complete with Malteser chocolates and gold fish snacks which I hauled back from the states for her. I’ve been thinking for a long time now that I really need a bikini that isn’t mostly black. Everything I own and wear is mostly black. This one is Volcom. But finding one that fits is such a fucking nightmare. We tried to go to the beach a couple of days later, but the weather turned to shit a bit, so it’s now going to happen in two sleeps’ time.
Since being back, I’ve been to two 21st birthday parties, partied even more on separate occasions, played four hockey games, met and re-met people I didn’t expect to really talk to, and re-kindled some old friendships. This week so far I have a bass lesson tomorrow, beach plans, a 20th birthday party/dinner/drinks, more hockey games, and then rounding the weekend off at a gig.
I’ve been working on my callouses again, because, you know, they’re important to bass players and we obsess over them and show each other our callouses. No, really, we do. It sounds kind of disgusting but I guess – especially to the boys – it’s like a crown of glory. Mine’s bigger, thicker than yours. Maybe I should’ve used another noun as the object of comparison. You know. Point is, I’m glad I can feel mine returning. Running through just purely scales up and down the fretboard for a good 30-40 minutes this afternoon, I could feel my left and right hand both feeling rusty at first, and then becoming more well-oiled with fluency and precision. Where was all this determination and drive when I needed it most during the year?
People I confide in and am close to have seen and felt a change in me and I like that. I can feel that I have a new bounce in my step, so to speak. And not the bounce that my “Dr Martens with Bouncing Soles” have given me either. Today I labeled Day 1 on “becoming the person i want to be” – and already it’s been far easier said than done. Sure, I did practise today, but not enough. Later, I cooked myself an early dinner with plans to digest it then hit up the gym to get back the muscle I need, in order to support and vanquish the pains of old injuries. What happened though? For some obscure reason, I fell asleep whilst reading. The next thing I knew it was 8.30pm and the gym closes at 9pm…
Now I shall try my best to not get distracted by some other artifact on the internet, or by music I want to explore and head to bed. Yeah, right.