Identify

"Charlie, there are two kinds of thieves in this world: The ones who steal to enrich their lives, and those who steal to define their lives. Don't be the latter."


----

A few weeks ago, my good friend Tovah announced that she was planning to visit Boston this weekend. I freaked out with excitement for two reasons: the first was simply because I hadn't seen her in nearly a year, as she no longer goes to school here. The second was because she is one of a very small number of my friends who seem to effortlessly and fundamentally understand my ideals as a musician. None of this "Oh, that's nice, but it sure would be great if you played more big chords" bullshit that I occasionally have to deal with. And it's not "Holy dicks this is the most amazing thing I've ever heard in the history of forever I will worship the ground you walk on!!!!shiftone!!elevenfactorial" either. She just gets it.

Naturally, I assumed that at some point this weekend I would get to play some of my new music for her, as was the case the last time she visited. During my Group Theory class on Monday, I took a break from staring blankly at the wall and started making a list of songs I had finished that Tovah hadn't heard. Over the past week, I spent a good chunk of practice time going over those songs, refining difficult passages and, in some cases, relearning them altogether.

Earlier today, we wandered through Boston Commons and various other patches of green, something I would never think to do on my own, but which I always enjoy as long as I have some interesting creature to talk to. When we finally made our way back to campus, Tovah realized that there wasn't enough time for our traditional one-on-one concert, as she had to meet up with someone for dinner. And you know what? I was totally fine with that. In fact, I am glad of it. While I like being able to identify myself in terms of something that I am passionate about, it is nice to be reassured that I am capable of having conversations that serve a purpose other than to kill time until I get my hands on my guitar again. It's a wonderful thing when music can bring people together, but I would never want my music to be merely a gimmick upon which I construct one-dimensional friendships.

----

Week 20 total: 24.5 hours
Grand total: 492.5 hours
Required pace: 384.5 hours (+108)