Day 238:

It was windy and warm in Chaumont, NY today. The photo presented here is from my archives, taken in the 1980's. I was driving along interstate route 11 in St. Lawrence County, NY, the heart of the North Country, and saw these two kids trying to lure a calf back to it's shed with the bottle of milk. What a terrific subject to stumble upon.


So, I remain out of sorts. Have been for about twentytwo months. That's how long it has been since my job hours were cut and I have had to adjust to a new routine, I've had to put all of my energy into surviving a huge income loss. I've had to be innovative and try to replace that lost income. By April of 2010 I had settled into a groove of sorts. Then the company I work for increased my hours by four a week. That's better than a sharp stick in the eye, but it came with a schedule change. Something new to adjust to. So now, six moths later, I find I have not settled into this new routine. That's what I mean by being out of sorts. The biggest problem is working a later shift one or two days in the week. The 2:30 to 11:00 shift. On those days I usually do not get to bed befor midnight or 12:30. Consequently, the next day I sleep a little later, or, if I don't, I end up going though the day with less sleep than I reqire to operate at 100%. Sooner or later I will adjust or just make some other changes. Through it all, I try to put in two hours of guitar practice
every day. For the most part I have been able to do that, however, there are a lot more days whenit is less than satisfactory to me. I attribute this to the latest upheaval with my job schedule change 6 months ago.
Speaking of guitar, Im am still trying to nail down a regular gig. I know of some players who are playing two or three nights a week, generally two to for hour gigs. Four hours is a long gig, will really tire one out. I have done it. That's a long time to play a guitar. In an ideal world I would get one or two nights a week from about 5:00 to 8:00 in a nice restaurant or cafe while folks were having dinner. That would keep my repertoire practiced and bring in some extra bucks. The lesson here is keep on hustling.

"Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art." -Frederic Chopin

The above quote by Chopin reinforces what I have said many times: The big secret to playing the guitar is constant repitition, playing over & over all of those notes and chords. From one note, to a phrase, to an entire song or composition. Play it over & over until it becomes simple. Render the complex to simplicity.