Last Thursday evening was a good evening.

First, after work, I went to my daughter’s school. She played two roles in the school play Crumpled Classics. It was a play-within-a-play, where the main plot was that the students were trying to present some classic stories (Romeo & Juliet, King Arthur) to the school principal but, of course, their take on each classic was, well, crumpled. Isla had a smaller role in The Phantom of the Opera act, but her show stealing role was as the school principal. Isla really put her all into the role, and fully hammed it up as befitting a comedy. Her performance was made even funnier due to the fact that she was the shortest person in the play, and with students as old as 12th-graders in the play, their height difference was very noticeable. It was good fun, and I was very proud of my talented little 3rd-grader!

Afterward, we got ice cream from McDonald’s.

Then, after that, I went to The Rock Band Experience to hear my buddy Ryan perform in a Neil Young cover band.  Mercifully, the venue was not in downtown Minneapolis, so that made for a pleasant experience even before I arrived. But the venue was great, the acoustics were excellent, there were free snacks and free beer, and the intimate venue made for a concert experience that I absolutely loved. Owen came with me, and we sat in the front row watching Ryan channel his inner-Rhett on drums. When the set was completed, I shouted “Encore!” and the band agreed to a replay of “Cinnamon Girl” as long as everyone joined them on stage singing vocals.

Well, only about 5-7 audience members took the opportunity to run up on stage, but Owen and I were among them.

Here’s the cool thing:

On January 19, 1992, I was present when Ryan performed “Cinnamon Girl” along with a few other friends. I even videotaped the recording. Here’s a picture of Ryan on that day:

I never would have imaged that, twenty-seven years, three months, and six day later, I would be at an equally fun encore. Here’s Ryan last Thursday:

Yeah! The band did great! Ryan did great! The play was great! Isla was great! Sometimes – every once in a long, long while – life turns out to be surprisingly fucking awesome.

I haven’t really had a good day in at least two months. And I’m hard-pressed to say any day I went to work makes for a good day. So let’s just say it was a good evening.

There’s suddenly a strong impetus to finish some projects around the house.

If you’re one of the one or two people who ever visit this blog, you’ve probably noticed I spend quite a bit of time on improving my house. Though there are some frustrating moments (and jobs), for the most part, I enjoy it. I like figuring out how to do something – or using the skills and tools I’ve accumulated during my two decades of adulthood to make my house better – and I take pride in the end results.

Owen is slated to move into the basement. I have been down there a lot in the past 6 months trying to bring it up to readiness for him to live in. Jennifer has spent a lot of time down there, too, including several hours this past Friday. Around Xmas time, I started telling Owen he would hopefully be able to move in to his new room around the time of his birthday. But his birthday is now less than a month away, and there’s just no way the room will be ready by then. Actually, it’s not even a “room” yet.

Of course, the room doesn’t have to be fully completed for him to move down there, but the walls and floor need to be completed. And I can’t finish the walls – or even build the ones that need building – until new mortar is purchased and applied to the two outer walls and electrical is run through the inner walls.

Time and money. It’s always goddam time and money.

Lately, my friends have been really good friends – inviting me over for a beer, meeting me at a pub for a beer, or coming over to my house for a beer. That’s all great – and if you’re one of my friends who have done that, I certainly appreciate it. But it doesn’t get anything done. In fact, the beer probably makes me just feel worse.

Last week, I met up with a friend for a meal. I didn’t drink any alcohol, and after eating we played billiards and then bowled two games. I liked that because we actually did something – we got up off our butts and did a physical activity. So that was a step in the right direction.

But the best thing is actual progress on projects. If I’m gonna get together with someone, I want them to help me with a home-improvement project. Or I want to go to their house to help them with a project. I’m trying to get some stuff done. I need to get some stuff done. But it’s just not happening.

Beneath the stains of time,
The feelings disappear.
You are someone else,
I am still right here.

What have I become,
My sweetest friend?
Everyone I know,
Goes away in the end…