I’m losing my ambition. This is probably something that a person shouldn’t admit, especially out loud on a blog post. In our culture, we place a high value on ambition, even celebrate it. Ambition is equated with forward motion, something fresh-scrubbed and enthusiastic. “Lack of ambition,” on the other hand, conjures up the image of a bleary-eyed, vapid stoner wasting his/her days away, playing X-Box in some dim living room. The unambitious are typically presumed to be slackers. Losers even. But is that really…
Friday evening. It’s sweltering out. My apartment is a sauna. I should be practicing but all I feel like doing is lying in front of the fan and watching Netflix. At the very least, I should be writing. Yeah, I know, I’m writing now. What I mean to say is that I should be writing something inspired. But at present, this is all I’ve got: She wanted to feel dizzy in his presence. She wanted explosions, shooting stars and hyperventilation. She craved the experience of…
Someone I care a lot about has been going through some hard stuff this past year. She’s taken hit after relentless hit. It’s been brutal. We were talking things over the other day and she wondered out loud “How much more resilience do I have?” Fair question. Knowing her as I do, I’d say she has a lot. Although I totally get that she might not be feeling it. There are so many ways that life hurts us. And contrary to some opinions, there is…
A week ago today, I was riding across the rocky hills of Texas on a beautiful Appaloosa mare named Dee Dee. The sky was wide and endless. The cypress-lined vistas were peaceful. Dee Dee was a sweet and steady girl. I grew up riding horses, even competitively. Still, it had been at least 30 years since I’d been on a horse. I wondered if I’d remember what to do. But the moment I climbed into that saddle, it all came back to me. The southern…
Assholes. Every creative community has a few. They slime around the scene, inflicting varying degrees of unpleasantness and leaving an acrid aftertaste in their wake. Ugh. Assholes aren’t a particularly upbeat thing to write about; neither are cockroaches or plumbing problems. But we all encounter them from time to time, right? It’s good to think about how we might be more skilled at dealing with them. Here are six ideas: 1. Ascertain the degree of assholery you’re dealing with. Not all assholes are created equal. They…
In my last post, I wrote about rejection. Judging from the comments, reposts, likes and emails that I've received in response, it’s clear to me that the subject resonates with a lot of people. It seems further examination is warranted. If we’re all feeling like a bunch of rejects, then what does it mean for the big picture of our creative lives? Rejection is a pragmatic issue as much as an emotional one. Let’s face it–opportunities lead to more opportunities. Recognition increases prospects. Accolades influence…
Last week, a local organization announced the finalists for an annual vocal competition that it hosts. These finalists will sing at Jazz Alley for a shot at winning a trip to Japan. Throughout the afternoon after the announcement was made, I received emails and texts from a handful of vocalists, friends who did not make the cut. Their reactions ran the gamut from perplexed to downright miserable. (I should add that all of these women are great singers.) We talked about a lot of…
A few weeks ago, my landlord sent (finally) the maintenance guy (Waffi) over to deal with a variety of problems in the apartment: an oven that wouldn’t light, a bathroom sink that wasn’t draining properly, a busted hinge on the hall closet door and a perpetually dripping faucet in the kitchen. We’d been living in a state of disrepair for several weeks. Waffi is a sweet but incredibly busy guy. Everyone wants a spot on his dance card and we’d been waiting a long…
The other day, I was talking to a guy who, by most definitions, would be considered a success. He earns six figures a year and works in a beautiful office in the Galleria Office Tower in Houston. (To those unfamiliar with the Galleria, think swanky.) He recently got remarried. His new wife is super smart, highly successful in her own career and lovely in every way. He adores her. They honeymooned in Budapest, by way of Paris. Upon their return to Houston, they bought a…
A year or so ago, I was chatting it up with a fellow vocalist. We were chortling, snorting and swapping stories, when at one point in the conversation, she told me that she doesn’t practice. (Screeching brakes, crashing plates) “Huh? Say what?” I sputtered back. She said it again, “I don’t practice.” In that moment, I was completely incapable of hiding my disbelief. My face contorted just like Curly’s does right before he falls over and spins around on the floor. Part of me…