Tag Archive: Filk

Ready for Georgia

My wonderful new wife and I are getting ready to leave for GAFilk on Friday.

I went out tonight to try to make money driving Uber, and found my headlight, which I fixed a couple months ago, is out again. Not safe, so no driving.

But we’re getting stoked about our first trip to GAFilk together.

Suzanne also wants to visit the Georgia Guidestones, a very odd erection near Elberton. We’ll do that after the con.

Major Stuph

Saturday I drove to St. Matthews, SC for a housefilk at Larry and Deborah Kirby’s house. Had a grand time, might have been 20 people there but for the most part it was Larry, me, and Frank Parker, then Teri Wachoviak, and then Harry Coburn with a couple of other songs by others. Teri made my head explode with praise for my performances. I spent the night, and drove back Sunday.

Sunday afternoon Suzanne and I looked at how to go about getting her to move here on a Marriage Visa (K-1). Its going to cost $390 for the visa itself, but filing to get the process started is free, so I printed out the paperwork and filled it in. I made a copy, and was going to mail it Monday, but… noticed that nobody had proposed to anybody. So I called Suzanne and did so. She is now bouncing around the room up there in Longueuil, PQ.

So here is how it works. I have to mail this document to somebody in the government (have to look that up, but shouldn’t be difficult). After the initial document is approved, a case number is assigned, and the matter is referred to the US Consulate in Canada (the website says only the Montreal office handles these, but perhaps the Halifax office can, as by the end of this month she will be back at her father’s house in New Brunswick). Then after all the interviews and such, they bill me for the K-1 Visa and it goes through, and then I go pick her up and drive back to Tennessee. We have a full year to finish the task, and if not completed she can go back to Canada. If successful, she applies for permanent residency with the skids already greased.

OK?

Hugs,
Me

Housefilk

We held our third monthly housefilk (Feb, Apr, May – March had us all going to Larry Kirby’s in South Carolina) tonight. It is always such a joy to have Cat Faber and Lauren Cox come over, and this month we added to the number with Cynthia Andresen and Ken Muller. Cyn and Ken stayed until 9, we went on until 10:30. Next month’s housefilk is scheduled for the 20th.

Nothing new today on the job or other means of income.

Hugs,
Me

Falling off the cliff

Things have been very odd around here. Issues with my cousin, my housing, my music, my job, pretty much everything. The waters are smoothing.

I still don’t know what’s going on with my cousin, it seems once a week she calls and leaves a screaming message on my phone that she will be leaving town “tomorrow”. So far as I know, it hasn’t happened yet. I hate that I had to pull away from her totally to preserve my own sanity, and I have also been incredibly ill from tree pollen and a resulting infection.

The illness caused me to badly underperform on my job, and I got written up for the first time in 3 years (on a major issue). But my client is more sympathetic than ever and I appear to have the support of his family.

And it’s hard to sing when you can barely breathe without coughing up a lung. But sing I will. My monthly housefilk was postponed a week — seems the major players forgot to get it on their schedule, and a week later worked better for all of us. So that will be this Saturday. Yay!

I won’t say anything about the housing issue at this time. There is a chance I may need to move, and a chance I may not. Lots of details need to be worked out first on either side. The upshot is an improvement (I think) in my financial situation, and enough in savings that I may not need to ask for help from family in the near future. Of course, the best laid mice and men seem to get other plans… or something like that…

My next performance is scheduled for ConCarolinas in June. I hope I’m in reasonably good shape by then. With the help of my friend Emmie I have found some strings which might make Arthur of the Wood sound better. I have also parted ways with Blue and Disciple (got paid for Disciple and will miss him) and have finally listed some of my extra electronic doodads for sale on eBay.

I hope everyone’s life is calm and that you are getting what you need from the Universe.

Hugs,
Me

Treading water

Well, GAFilk is over for another year. I had a terrific time as I always do (that’s why I keep going, y’all) but it’s over. I have no concrete plans for any other cons this year, although there are 3 cons I’m considering (ConCarolinas, OVFF, and Chambanacon, if you’re curious) depending on funds (of which I have virtually none and have run up too much credit card debt).

Even so, I have a high point every year to look forward to, and it’s not all that expensive ($50 or less for the con, $35 for the banquet, half a hotel room, and some food and parking money). I even wrote a new song this year (not a cheerful one, sadly) and got to perform it.

There were around 160 people this year, and I know and love probably half of that number and would say the same about the other half if I took the time to get to know them. It can also be said that, of the people I know and love and/or respect, 80% of them were or had been in that room this year and/or one of the previous four.

Only 51 weeks to go…

Apparently my position is being eliminated on the 21st of this month, although the company claims they have other positions for me. Until they offer one, I have no idea how that will work out, so it’s a bit itchy.

I don’t believe I mentioned that my new coffeepot (42-cup Hamilton Beach percolator) stopped perking after only 10 weeks and they are dragging their feet replacing it even though they have already charged me for the shipping cost. So, no coffee, have to go to Pilot for a while. Which saves me money on gas…

Hugs,
Me

New Year

Like many people, I have not been at my best for the past several weeks. The weather has been strange, with only one very light snowfall yet, and often reaches temperatures in the 70s. Either this is the Winter of Global Warming or we’re being set up.

This weekend, I will be celebrating with many friends at GAFilk. Lots of music, lots of love.

People wonder what this blog is about. I’m a psychiatric survivor, musician, direct support professional, disabled person, pagan priest, bard, friend, online groups manager, science fiction and fantasy fan, reader of much non-fiction, editor… and I love my two cats.

I get criticism that I don’t just pick one subject and blog on it, but that would mean I would need many blogs. This blog reflects my humanity, in all my failures and successes, joys and degradations. I have been trying to make myself the best person I can be, and have had a lot of success in doing so, but it is far from a finished product.

If you are someone I have helped, thank you for being there so that I could practice being the good person I intent to be. If you are someone I have refused to help, thank you for helping me set boundaries on what I can and cannot do.

Hugs,
Me

Back to Hemlock Hollow

I woke up early, made sure I had all my stuff together, moved some of it to the porch. Waiting for Ken and Emmie to come and throw it (and me) in the truck (gently, please). Got my biscuits coming out of the oven.

And sometime this evening, I will have yet another performance at Hemlock Hollow. Hope I can get my energy up for it.

I sold another CD today. Yayyy! Pretty sad when a single sale makes your month, but I am thankful. The purchaser was someone I’ve “known” since pre-Internet days and a pretty well-known Canadian filker. (Thanks, Farrell!)

So the cats are fed, the litter box is changed, my stuff it gathered (some inside, some outside), I’m about to take my first morning sip of fresh coffee, I’m munching buttermilk biscuits for breakfast, and I’m going to play music before nightfall.

Sounds like a pretty good day.

Hugs,
Me

Still moving

I just got my last utility bill from Blaine. I have no idea when or if they will refund my deposit but at least I will be totally paid on my end. I got one deposit back and another has promised to send it the first week of September. So I’m starting on the road to financial recovery… moving is expensive, more so when you have to keep two residences going for a couple months.

I have a job interview on Monday for a position which might be in Newport.

Going over to Emmie’s today to play with musical electronics (PA).

I have another performance scheduled at Hemlock Hollow in two weeks. Have also been booked for Wolfstock in October. Nothing on the convention side of things until GAFilk in January. I hope I can get to at least one more convention next year, with my eye on ConCarolinas and Chambanacon (aka Ironicon).

I haven’t spent nearly enough time on the trails here. Part of it has been the heat — while it hasn’t been ridiculous compared to other places, we have had several times more 90-degree-plus days than is usual. I’m expecting a very cold winter…

Have I mentioned that I’ve been reading the Demon Squad series by Tim Marquitz? This has been an exceptionally good potboiler, in my mind as good as the Garrett P.I. series and the Nightside books. The problem with pageturner books is you get done and there isn’t another book… I’m on Book 8 and he just published Book 9 last week.

Hugs,
Me

GAFilk Redux

I had a wonderful time this weekend at GAFilk, my 4th consecutive year there. You had better believe I’ll be going back next year. I also have semi-committed to ConCarolinas at the end of May and mini-committed to Chambanacon. Anyhow, I got to play and sing a lot, show off my hard baby, and spend lots of time with BLC and many, many, many other friends, listen to lots of concerts, dance with Sue (twice this year, new record) (I turned down a dance with Cat, as I was tuckered out from the two with Sue), bought two books, picked up a free book, and bought a new t-shirt. The trip was uneventful both ways, taking a shade over 3.5 hours each way. Now I just need to record my spending and see how well I did with that. I gave CDs to Lem and Kathleen, who funded the recording, and also CD and Rob.

Hugs,
Me

Driving to Georgia

Don’t have a Sherman tank, don’t smoke Nat Sherman’s, but I’m going to Georgia for my fourth consecutive GAFilk. Rooming with Blind Lemming Chiffon as usual. Hope to see a lot of my friends and have a great time.