Wednesday, 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. Meanwhile, I still had to return KBD’s van to her on Sunday and figure out a way to get back down to Santa Barbara by Monday morning.

So Sunday I drove KBD’s van back up to Muir Beach. I was able to get two riders at the last minute – a Pisces who’s being tormented by other-worldly entities and a Chinese girl who didn’t talk much; mostly, I suspect, because her accent was really thick and she got tired of my asking her to repeat what she said.

There was a lot of traffic on Route 5 heading up to San Francisco and we finally pulled into Berkley at about 7:00 PM. I dropped my two passengers off and then headed to a nearby Internet café to check emails and Mapquest my way from there to Muir Beach. While I was there I met a new MySpace friend and got info on performing at the café the next time I’m in Berkley, which seems like a cool town and one that would be open to the kind of music I do.

By the time I got to Muir Beach, KBD was in bed. She’d hurt her knee while at the Green Festival that had taken place that weekend – standing on her feet too long. She took something for the pain and got into bed. I wanted to stay and help her pack for her move but I had to be back down in Santa Barbara on Monday. I tried to get a rideshare down to Santa Barbara but there were none to be had. I couldn’t even get a ride down to Los Angeles, and there are usually lots of those to be had; especially on a Sunday night. Even the buses were all booked, probably due to the Green Festival. A lot of people came up from Los Angeles for it and I guess a lot of them took rideshares and the bus back down.

After exhausting the car, bus and train possibilities, I finally resorted to flying and was amazed to discover that I could fly to Los Angeles for only $119! And at the last minute! Once I’d secured the flight, the challenge became how to get to the airport. The rain had been falling steadily since I hit San Francisco and it didn’t look like it was going to let up any time soon. That windy, curvy road up and around the hills leading to the house was treacherous enough on a bright and sunny day. On a rainy and foggy night, I knew it would take nothing short of a miracle to get a ride to the airport. I just prayed the Internet wouldn’t go down before I could get the names and numbers of shuttle buses and whatever other transportation I could find.

None of the shuttle buses were running to or from Muir Beach that night. I was hoping to get some kind of ride across the Golden Gate Bridge, where I could then take the BART to the airport. My flight to Los Angeles left at 7:30 A.M., so I had to be at the airport by at least 6:00 A.M. I was fully prepared to sit all night in the airport, as long as I was on that plane when it took off. At this point, it was almost 3:00 A.M. and I’d almost given up hope. Most of the people I spoke with over the phone didn’t even know where Muir Beach was, let alone how to get there. And once they realized where it was, they flat out refused to make the journey. So, by the time I got a cab dispatcher on the phone who agreed to personally come and get me and who claimed to know exactly where I was, I was overjoyed. So overjoyed in fact that I happily agreed to pay the $90 cost.

One of the worst things about driving up that windy, curvy road to the house is that you can’t get cell phone reception until you’ve already made it all the way to the house. As soon as I’d pull up in front of the house, my cell phone would give a little beep which let me know that I was able to make and receive calls. That meant that if the driver got lost, he wouldn’t be able to reach me for directions. Even though he claimed to know exactly where I was, I was still on pins and needles waiting for his arrival, which he estimated to be about 45 minutes after we hung up. When an hour and a half had passed and there was still no taxi, I grew more and more worried. Finally, my phone rang and I knew it was the driver. The signal was weak and I could barely make out what he was saying.

“Where are you?” he asked, which I thought to be pretty ridiculous, since we both knew where I was. The question was, where was he? I didn’t get an answer to that question because we lost the signal. Then a few minutes later he called again.

“I just passed the Pelican,” he shouted into the phone, “but I don’t see your house. There are some cars parked on the side of the road. Is that where you are?”

“I don’t know,” I said, ‘because I don’t know where you are. Did you see a red van parked in the car park to your left? Did you turn onto Seacape?” He didn’t answer my questions. Just kept going on about the Pelican and the cars parked on the side of the road.
“I think I passed it,” he said. “I’m going to turn around and go back.”

“No!” I shouted into the phone. “Don’t do that. Just stay on 1 North.” But it was too late. The signal was gone.

I decided the best thing to do was to wait outside because he would never find the house on that dark and foggy night. It was still raining. The kind of steady drizzle that just wears you down. I gathered up my computer bag and overnight bag and went up the stairs leading to the road. It was cold and damp and I was ill-prepared to be standing outside, so I climbed into KBD’s car. After about half an hour, I saw a car stop at the bottom of the hill and hesitate, as if the driver was thinking about turning left onto Seacape but then thought better of it and proceeded past the point where he should have turned off. I knew it was the cab driver but there was nothing I could do except flash my lights hoping that he’d see them. Of course he didn’t. A short time later he drove back down the road, past Seacape again, this time in the other direction. I frantically flashed the lights again and thought for one insane moment about running down the hill, in the dark, in the rain, to try to catch him. Fortunately common sense stepped in and stopped me. That and my imagining myself plummeting down the hill and breaking something.

A few minutes later, the phone rang again. I knew it was the driver, so I didn’t even wait for him to waste precious signal time asking me where I was.

“You just drove past the house!” I shouted. “Turn around and come back!” He tried to launch into an explanation of where he was but I cut him off.

“I know exactly where you are,” I said. “I saw you drive past me. Just turn around and come right back up the hill and turn left onto Seacape. I saw you stop at the intersection and think about turning. Well this time, turn.” At that point, we lost the signal again. All I could do now was wait and hope. Fortunately, the forces that be were smiling upon me that night, although it was just a little smile because it still cost me a fortune by the time all was said and done. But the driver turned around and came back up the hill and turned onto Seacape, at which point I got out of the car and waved one arm wildly about while flashing the lights with the other hand. I would love to write that that’s where the excitement ended and that I enjoyed a lovely ride to the airport, boarded the plane and landed in Los Angeles with no further ado. And I could say that. But I wouldn’t be telling the truth.

As it turned out, the driver was not the person who’d initially taken the call. The dispatcher turned the job over to someone else. That someone turned out to be the owner of the fleet. I guess he’d been driving a long time (although he seemed very young) because he didn’t seem the least bit worried about driving down the long, dark, wet, windy, curvy, shoulderless road to town. His phone kept ringing and he’d answer it and then reach for his notepad and pen and start writing things down, with one eye on the road and the other on his writing. We were careening back and forth at breakneck speed, and coming so close to the edge at times that I was sitting with my hand on the door handle, ready to leap out should it seem that we were about to go over the edge. Happily, we didn’t go over the edge and I made it to the airport in one piece, although I’m sure I aged a few years in the process.
Since I hadn’t packed my overnight bag with flying in mind, of course I had all of the things in there that I shouldn’t have, like toothpaste, mouthwash, body lotion, etc. My choices were: Lose them all or check my bag.

I just moved into this really cool house in Malibu, where I’ll be until the end of March. The only fly in the ointment at this point is that the stove doesn’t work and there’s no Internet. However, the house’s owner says it’s wired for Internet, I just need to hook up a modem. The stove needs a part, which supposedly is on order. Hopefully it will arrive soon. As far as the modem goes, I haven’t figured that one out yet. When I moved in the other day, there wasn’t hot water either. I had to bathe, so I just took a cold shower, which was no fun at all. The hot water’s on now and I’m looking forward to taking a long hot bath, climbing into bed and getting a nice chunk of sleep.
Last week I did an open mic at Café Bellissimo. The host, Garrett Swayne, sang a few of his original songs as well. He performed a great song about his grandfather, who was a candy maker and owned a shop in Germany before Hitler’s regime drove his family out of Germany.

Last Sunday I had brunch with MPM and some of her friends at a dim sum restaurant in Chinatown. One of her friends is interning for a firm that licenses music for film. I gave him my CD and he said he would pass it on to his bosses.

The groundwork is being laid. I expect magical things to happen in this wonderful part of these United States of America. I do believe that, if I build it, they will come! As a matter of fact, they're almost here.

More soon...

© Daughter of the Sun. Reprint by permission only.

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...

More Journals