Sunday, March 24, 2007

I had kind of a surreal moment today. I sometimes keep the television on when I'm working on the computer. Just as sort of background noise so I don't feel so alone. Every once in a while, I'll tune in and listen to what's going on. There was a commercial on for a car dealership. When I heard "Sherman Oaks," I thought they'd made a mistake. For one crazy moment, I thought I was still in New York City! I had a good laugh at myself once I realized what happened.

I've been checking Craigslist for their ETC. listings and came upon one looking for journalists for a music publication. I submitted a writing sample and was asked to write a sample music review. I chose my friend Tracy Nicole, who is an amazing singer/songwriter, to write a piece about. Hopefully the publication will use it. I wanted to write about myself of course but that would be too obvious. If the publication chooses me as one of the journalists, I can always ask one of the other writers for the publication to submit a piece about my music.

I spent the Sunday sitting in front of the computer, sending a link to music placement companies. I didn't go outside at all, except while I talked briefly on the phone with one of my New York friends and went to sit on the front porch, which is finally finished, except for the painting. Sunday night I rewarded myself for all the hard work I've put in by baking some oatmeal cookies and treating myself to a hot bath. I was planning to watch a movie after but the hot bath was so relaxing that I got right into bed after and fell right to sleep.

The realtor showed the house the other day. I like to go out while that's happening so that I don't hamper their efforts, so I drove down to the local health food store to buy some organic popcorn. Sometimes late at night I get the munchies and if I make popcorn, it's a lot healthier than potato chips or something. On the way back to the house, I decided to stop at the beach for once. It was nice to feel the ocean breeze on my face. I stood there and just breathed it in for awhile before heading back to the house and getting back to work. I have to do that more often.

I wrote three new songs to the tracks that the two producers gave me. I think they turned out rather well. They were happy with them as well. I emailed the three mp3s to them. There's one in particular that they love. "I must have listened to it at least fifty times in a row," one of them told me over the phone the next day. "I'm so excited in fact," he continued, "that I don't even know what to do with it yet. I'm gonna make some calls but I have to figure out exactly how to approach this. This song is dope!" While I'm not particularly fond of that word "dope" when talking about something positive, I must admit I was glad to hear him go on so enthusiastically. (Click here to listen to two of them.)

I performed at the Farmers Market again last Thursday. This time I did the four to seven slot. My audience was made up mostly of women with small children. The children were fascinated by my guitar playing and one little girl insisted on coming up and saying hello to me as I was packing up my gear at the end of the evening. She was so adorable.

One of the food vendors said there were hummingbirds flying around behind me as I sang. At one point, he said, they were just perched on the tree behind me, as if they were listening. The rest of the time they were just flying around behind me. "It was almost like they were part of the act," he said. I thought that was pretty cool.
I was surprised that I didn't run out of material by the end of the evening. I wound up only having to repeat three songs. I didn't realize I had that many songs. Some of them I hadn't performed in a while, so I couldn't remember all of the lyrics or the guitar chord structures, but I just kind of made it up as I went along. One of the good things about doing original material is that nobody but you knows when you screw up.

My friend JJM came by last Sunday afternoon for a visit. She lives part-time in New York City and part-time in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it was freezing while she was here. They've been doing work on the both the front and back porches and they must have disconnected something in the back where the heating system is because the heat was not working at all for the entire weekend. Ordinarily that would have been okay but it's been overcast and chilly for the past several days. I think that's just along the coast though because when I drove to the health food store the other day, as I got closer to Santa Monica it seemed like the sun was breaking through. I had to turn the oven on while JJM was here. We sat in the kitchen and had hot tea and talked. It was nice to see her. Sometimes I get lonely all the way out here in Malibu. I want to get into my car and drive to where people are but then I remind myself why I'm here and what I'm supposed to be doing and the workaholic in me takes over again and I get back to work.

I finally saw the documentary "The Secret" that Oprah Winfrey and everybody has been talking about. Most of it was stuff I already know. How focusing on what you don't have only creates more of the same. The first time I was going out to look for a job, my mother told me to visualize the kind of office that I wanted to work in. Once I had a clear image of it in my mind, I went out and started the interview process. I wound up getting a job in a place much like the one I'd envisioned! I know that creative visualization really works and that focusing your positive energy produced results. I feel like my whole life is an example of that. But I thought that if I only learned one small thing from watching The Secret, it would be worth it.

I paid $4.95 to download and watch it on my laptop and then made the mistake of watching it in bed. I wound up sleeping through a lot of it. The narrators' voices were so soothing that they kept lulling me to sleep, which wasn't difficult to do because I've not been getting nearly enough sleep. According to The Secret though, as long as I keep focusing on the fact that I haven't been getting enough sleep, I'll continue to recreate that for myself, so I won't say that anymore. From now on, I'll envision myself as being well-rested. As a matter of fact, I have more than enough of everything that I need and almost everything that I want. I don't think I ever want to get to the point where I have everything that I want because why would I have a reason to get out of bed in the morning? I always want to be striving for something.

I did learn one thing from watching the documentary. Whenever I have moments of self-doubt, I always beat myself up because I think that by allowing fear and self-doubt into my consciousness, I'm embracing negativity and taking myself farther away from my goals. Apparently, according to The Secret, that's not the case. "Positive thoughts are much stronger than negative ones," they said. And, also according to them, things we envision don't happen right away, so there's always the opportunity to revise them. Which means that if I have a moment of negativity, once I realize it (which I do immediately), I can change the image and replace it with a positive one and send that out into the cosmos instead. That made me feel much better. That alone was worth the price of admission.

So, to end on a positive note, I am overflowing with abundance. I am grateful for all that I have received and all that I will continue to receive. I am loved and loving and constantly rising to higher levels of love and positivity.

More soon...

© Daughter of the Sun. Reprint by permission only.

March 12, 2007 - I drove down to Chula Vista to perform at Southwestern College's campus. There was a street painting festival going on and students from the college came and painted beautiful pictures while I sang. I was tempted to drive down to Mexico afterward but one of my MySpace friends was performing in Hollywood and I wanted to get back to see her. More...

February 26, 2007 - Let's see; what have I been up to? I went to a party at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. My friend BGJ was sitting in with a band. It was a birthday party for a girl who's in the television show Scrubs. I danced a lot and gave out some cards of course. More...

January 20, 2007 - It feels like 2006 is just a rapidly fading dream that I had a long time ago. And it's only January. I'm firmly ensconced in Malibu. I have my recording setup up and running and actually finished the vocals and mixed a new song I wrote while in New York, entitled "Whatever." It's one of those fun, singing about nothing songs that the majors seem to like so much. More...

December 27, 2006 - I have much to be thankful for this holiday season. I have my health, a wonderful home in Malibu, a great car to drive around in, food in the fridge, loving family and friends, a new band and my God-given talents. And the stove is finally working at the house, which means I don't have to use the hotplate anymore. More...

November 15, 2006 - What a challenge these past couple of weeks have been. My plan was to go to Santa Barbara last Friday to finalize the details with the transfer of the car. I had to sign the agreement with the previous owner and to go to DMV to register the car, only to discover on Friday that the DMV was closed because Saturday was Veteran’s Day. More...

October 17, 2006 - I was on strike today. I decided that, not only was I not leaving the house today, but I also was not going to take off my pajamas. Fortunately, KBD’s new housemate, RJD, is away for a few days because he likes to have lots of attention and is always strutting around, puffing out his chest, bragging about his latest business conquest. The bad news is, we never got around to going grocery shopping so there weren’t a lot of options food-wise. More...

October 10, 2006 -I went out a few nights ago to hang out again with my new MySpace friend to see her friend perform. I was so proud of myself because I didn’t get lost once on the drive there. By the time I arrived at the Revolution Café, AMS and her friends had already polished off a few bottles of wine. More...

October 3, 2006 - I’ve been in Northern California for nearly two weeks now. I’m staying at KBD’s home once again, in the house overlooking the ocean and the rolling hills. Today I saw two deer grazing right outside the kitchen window. I felt a long way from the overcrowded, noisy streets of New York City. More...

September 10, 2006 - It’s almost midnight and here I sit in front of my computer still. I didn’t go out today. I don’t know if it was cold or hot but I do know that it was sunny because I sat near the window as I worked, so that I could feel the sun on my skin. More...

August 20, 2006 - Friday night was my performance at The Alphabet Lounge. There was a nice turnout, although about one third of the people arrived almost at the end of the performance. More...

July 7, 2006 - Yesterday was my show at The Talking Stick. I thought I’d get some photos of my performance but unfortunately TDJ arrived just as I’d finished my last song. I only performed a few songs. More...

July 3, 2006 - I’m in my own bedroom at TDJ’s apartment. My own little slice of Heaven. I’m sleeping on an air mattress on the floor in what is technically TDJ’s office/recording studio but who cares. I have my own bathroom and I can sleep as late as I like. More...

June 30, 2006 - I think I’ve worn out my welcome with NAP. Fortunately, I spoke with TDJ yesterday and his other houseguests have departed, which means that starting today I can stay in his extra bedroom. He’s my only friend in California that I haven’t met through MySpace. More...

June 24, 2006 - So I’m in Los Angeles, the city of broken dreams and make believe. I’m staying with a wonderful family, thanks again to MySpace. NAP is a singer, a wife and the mother of two absolutely adorable (and exhaustingly rambunctious) children. More...

June 8, 2006 - I am loving life right about now. I’m in Northern California in a little town near Sausalito with a population of about 200. I posted an ad on Craigs List saying I was willing to exchange administrative services for room and board and, lo and behold, I got two responses the very next day. More...

May 3, 2006 - I just got in from playing in the subway station. I like the F line at the 23rd Street station... More...

April 24, 2006 - I found a numerology site and, according to their calculations, I’m at the end of a cycle. I‘ve past the harvest and I’m about to lay down new seeds I guess to prepare for the coming Winter. More...

April 10, 2006 - I’ve been spending a lot of time online, working on my MySpace page, making new friends through MySpace as well. By the time I get to California, I’ll already know lots of folks there. More...

April 2, 2006 - I can’t believe it’s April already. The year is nearly half done, although some more optimistic than I am at this moment in my life would say the year’s barely begun. It just seems that time is marching along faster and faster each year. More...

March 23, 2006 - Not much new to report. Still laid up with my broken toe. More...

March 16, 2006 - What a week it’s been! A broken toe, post-Philly drama, TTT came into town, west coast tour in the works, April concert to plan, new band. More...

March 10, 2006 - It was a pretty smooth drive with almost no traffic even though we left the city at 5 o’clock. We reached Philadelphia at about 8 o’clock. It reminds me of a lot of other small towns I’ve been in, like Troy and Albany. More...

March 8, 2006 - This evening I’m off to New Rochelle to perform at a Habitat for Humanity fundraising event. I’m taking CDs, which I will autograph and sell and donate half the proceeds to Habitat for Humanity. They’re going to New Orleans to rebuild some of the homes that were destroyed by Katrina. More...

March 2, 2006 - I am so over the cold and ready for the Spring. It’s hard to believe it’s right around the corner. The groundhog saw his shadow last month, which supposedly means Winter is hanging around a bit longer but I remain ever hopeful. More...

February 25, 2006 - Another late night… What else is new? I performed at Bellizzi’s tonight. Two sets. I ran through my entire arsenal of songs and even threw in a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s song, “True Colors.” I don’t really like doing covers but the woman who hired me for the night asked me to and you have to give the people what they want, especially when they're paying. More...

February 19, 2006 - Another all nighter… My plan was to get into bed by midnight at the latest but I wound up staying up and setting up my page on MySpace. It turns out there’s another artist with my name (Setra) who’s already on MySpace so I couldn’t use my own name. I had to sign up using Daughter of the Sun instead. It took a while to upload the music and the photos, once I figured out how to do it. More...

February 16, 2006 - Hurray! The snow is almost gone! Just the way I like the snow. A lot of it comes down, it stays for a few days and then it melts and is gone; and not a moment too soon. I ate the last of the food today, which means I have to go grocery shopping tomorrow. I haven't weighed myself but I have a feeling I've gained at least a couple of pounds. More...

Snow - I have about five days’ worth of food, and I’m prepared to hibernate until the snow melts. My car is parked across the street but I don’t know which mound it’s under. It was kind of nice being home alone and doing whatever I wanted to without having to answer to anybody or even speak to another person. I turned off the ringer on the phone and just spent some time with myself. More...

Guero's - I just got in from Guero’s. What a night. First off, it turns out they didn’t have a PA system, an amp, a microphone or microphone stand so I had to pack up all that stuff and take it with me. I lugged it all a block and a half to where I’d parked my car Monday evening and when I got to the parking spot where I’d left my car, my car was nowhere to be found. More...

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