2001-08-14
feeling kinda
birthday countdown: 5 days.
i was thinking about this on the way from job #1 to job #2 tonight. learning something new is harder now than it ever has been. and i think it's because as we age, we lose some of the ability to absorb information. it used to be that all the information you got was news. then you got some ideas in your head, and you started to be able to interpret information. gradually, you get to the point where you can test new ideas against what you know, and accept a new fact, or discard it because it doesn't fit you body of knowledge. and you can do this with a degree of confidence. what you don't realize is that your brain is becoming more rigid. you become less open to new ideas and thoughts.
then you step off a cliff and try to learn something wholly unfamiliar. even the vocabulary confuses you. and this feeling of having no bearings, no frame of reference, is overwhelming, almost more so that what it is you're trying to learn. it makes you (okay, me) angry and frustrated. but conversely, when you do get it, the success is exhilerating.
wouldn't it be nice to be able to step back and look at the world thru a child's eyes for just a bit, to remember what it was like to learn every single thing from scratch, where ideas and concepts were vast new worlds to discover?
that wasn't really connected to anything that happened today, just popped into my head as we went thru Charles Street station.
what did happen today was that i worked the Jill Scott show. ended up walking over from South Station, and partway there i sniffed burnt wood, piney sort of stuff, as if i were walking past a fireplace. couldn't figure out where that scent could be coming from downtown until i looked across the street. it would seem that the Boston Tea Party ship museum is no more. it was still hot when i walked by, so must have happened fairly recently, altho they did have it boarded up. funny, haven't heard anything about it.
bumped into george on the way over to the Pavilion, and we got to talking about the mail list for the Orpheum. ken had said he wouldn't give out anyone's email without asking first... and promptly sent out the message with everyone's email addys in plain view. of course, i said to george that i was trying to fish his and john's emails out of there, and we ended up talking about last names. this led to a very 'small world' moment. george said, 'well, you know, john's last name is ... .' 'huh. funny, that name's been coming up a lot in my life lately. that's my insurance agent's last name.' 'his cousin is working tonight; that's her name.' now, what are the odds?
so i walked over to priscilla when i get there, and ask if she works for my insurance company. 'yeeessssss...' *questioning look* 'we talked this morning about quotes for rob's car.' 'get out!' turns out i've been working with her all summer without properly knowing her name, so i didn't make the connection when we talked on the phone. very cool, in my book. it'll be nice to work with her as my agent.
i also took great pleasure in being able to reseat two women, who were just adorable. they came in together, but were seated about 5 rows apart. it was pretty clear that this woman was taking her mom to the show, and i couldn't let her do that and not have them sit together, now, could i? rudy and joe helped out, and we got them moved to two seats together in the second or third row in front of the stage. yay! made me happy to be able to do that.
there were three other women who came in with a 2 and 1 split. they were all set to swap around and take turns with the one better seat, until the woman who started there realized it was in the front row. she turned around to her friends, said 'bye!', laughing, and took off for her seat. made me giggle.
the boys wanted to go out for a drink after the show, but it being a school night, and nights with them rarely ending before 1 or 2 in the morning, i had to say no. instead, i planned myself a birthday party for after the show on Friday. invited everyone i pal around with down there, and we're gonna go to the deck at the Seacoast. should be a raucous, bawdy good time.
oh, yeah... the show was good. :) Mike Phillips, a sax player, opened. right there, that's all sexy goodness, because i love horns, sax in particular. he did a solo where he walked around the theatre, and since i was still seating people, it took me a while to figure out that he was holding the same one note the whole time. while it must have been circular breathing, all i could think was 'my god, that man must be breathing thru his ass!'
and jill scott was just stupendous. what a set of pipes that woman has! and as good as her album is, her live performance is even better. she held the audience in the palm of her hand all night. if you ever have a chance to see her live, do it. go. you'll be glad you did. and i'm starting to get jaded about shows since i do two or three a week, so it says a lot for me to be raving about her.
i made the train home, just barely; the other woman who jumped on right behind me looked over, and we congratulated each other. then i saw her face fall. she realized she had gotten on the wrong direction (easy mistake in the rat's warren of South Station these days). poor kiddo. sometimes, the karma just doesn't flow your way.
eh. off to the Gs to see Marty for a quick nightcap, and then off to bed.
