here NOW

we had the pleasantry lane christmas party last night
a cozy gathering of about 100
of our friends
and fellow musicians
at club dada
i couldn't think of a place i would have rather been
the whole night couldn't have been any better for me
if it had been scripted
rip picked up some pizzas from scalini's
mark played the christmas mix cd we'd made
rahim becky and philip all played great sets
rahim's christmas song was awesome
becky and philip sounded like angels together
i've had the chance to work on so many cool records this year
and next year promises more of the same
around 11;30 we were greeted by a warm
and appreciative audience
the new songs felt great
especially "western hills"
and "saint georges"
which we got to play for Grace
who'd just flown in from Massachusetts
it was so good to see her again after these past few months
her presence made everything all the more special
as the last chord of georges rang out
ben t. shouted for us to play "avenue"
as an encore
which we then proceeded to do
and after that
when E went to the bar
i just started playing "the wrong road"
more as an instinct
than an actual thought
i'd never played it with the band before
but rich immediately fell in with the right piano chords
and it all felt really good
tj and eric carried it on home
and then we finished the night with "i'll be around"
for bop a lena
the whole experience left me high as a kite
energized by the music
and my friends
what a great feeling...

at 9:45am G came strolling up the sidewalk
with my mom
it was so good to see his smiling little face
just one night away and i missed him so much
i can't even begin to imagine being away longer than that
anyway
once we all got going we went to buzzbrew's with L and L
for breakfast
then headed to the galleria for G's 1st ice skating experience
we had so much fun slip sliding around the rink with him
as his legs went every which way and he cackled hysterically
it was so much fun
after that we took him to northpark to see the trains
i noticed a big change in his reaction this year
as opposed to last
he was absolutely mesmerized today
running around following certain trains as far as he could
and then staring slack jawed and glassy eyed at them
in kid wonder
around 5 we went home
jayme made a special fancy dinner that she'd planned out
it was delicious
afterwards we sat around the tree and opened presents
then ate some keylime pie jayme had made
our christmas light ride through highland park was next
it was so peaceful and fun
i felt wholly immersed in christmas spirit
we got home around 10 and said goodnight to little G
then L and L and i snuck out to the studio
poured some wine
turned down the lights
and put on the finished version
of constellation
for the 1st time for them to hear
it was nice to be able to sit there and listen
in silence
and reflect on this record billy and i made
that i realized again how much i enjoy it
"always caught up in the doing...always the pushing and pulling"
my own words coming back on me but yeah
most of the time i just keep the pedal to the metal
and i don't ever take the time to pause
and reflect
on these things i've done
tonight i had that chance to do so
with my 2 dear friends
who have been there with me every step of the way
it felt really nice
it was another beautiful moment for me
and the perfect ending to another perfect day