It was hot and blustery when I went out to wait at the bus stop. Took the 11; one of my favourite bus drivers, John was the one who picked me up! We chatted a bit. Asked him if he’d ever been to Crystal Lake, recommended it; he said he had a girlfriend there once, years ago. Hadn’t been since, but it was a nice place. I noticed, maybe for the first time, that he wore fingerless gloves; I wonder if that really made the bus operation more comfortable. Or, if he bikes home after this. We talked a bit about the music festivals happening all over the summer; he asked me if I played any instruments. I told him no, only sang. “Ah, so you’re the back-up instrument!”

The Small Business Founding tutorial at the Central Library didn’t give me the networking opportunities I’d hoped for, but it was very educational. The lecturer, Maribel, recognised me, as we worked in the same building. I didn’t recognise her at all, but I pretended to, as usual. I jotted down plenty of notes, and I’ll be reaching out to her, to obtain a copy of the presentation she gave via email.

I got caught in the rain, after I finished the grocery shopping I did after the workshop; that grey, heavy storm broke open maybe an hour earlier than I thought it would. Ash, one of the workshop attendees, had brought a red-and-black umbrella. I thought it was peculiar, since the weather was still good and sun-bright by the time we got out. I don’t know if they were going elsewhere after the workshop; they’re currently working from home in a 9–5, and expressed a desire to learn what’s required to start their own business. One of the questions I asked Maribel was what sort of start-ups they’d been seeing more often after COVID, and which ones were struggling; of course, many of the craft breweries were closing, but a lot of cleaning companies were going into business. Ash explained that WFH workers were probably hiring them to clean their home; they had done so themself, actually.

Going out an’ about around the city, as limited as the Downtown office-core area is, gave me the idea of looking into some of the nearby local businesses for openings; I found a bunch that interest me. I’ll turn in my applications tomorrow; it’s already enough work to tailor my CV for one position, let alone half a dozen. I’m hoping I land a position in a nearby restaurant. I miss that kind of physically active, in-close-contact-with-food type of work. Maybe it’s not glamourous, but even though at the end of the day a job is just a job, I still feel that anything food-oriented is very important to me.

The job search continues, but I’m in no hurry. I’m finally beginning to mentally slow down—no more rushing and skipping ahead to the next word, next reaction, like before. She and I are speaking slower, now. It’s… really nice.

I was telling my fiancée, some time ago, that when she listens to recordings, she’s only getting HALF the music. I described it to her as the difference between us texting and calling, versus actually being there with each other…

Going to Rootstock at the Icehouse after the Giant Pencil Sharpening block party, that was an electrifying experience. Up until I moved to Minneapolis… the only live performances (outside of the Joyful DJ Bike Raves) I’d seen up close was a production of The Producers done by my local hometown theatre, and some performance of Randy Newman somewhere in or near L.A. (or was it Hollywood?) when he clearly had a cold. I remember the former only dimly (though I did enjoy it), and the latter even less so; I was only a child, and I possibly was too short to see much. The two biggest things I remember of that The Producers production were the orchestra tuning prior to the start of the play, and the performance of the woman playing Ulla. Since Rootstock, I’d been FOMOing into every live music event I can get my hands on.

Listening to music, for me, for the longest time, was a solitary event. Me in my room, with a pair of headphones. Half the time, I was doing homework during it. I didn’t really know what music was like. I didn’t know it was any different.

Now she’s involved in amateur theatre… It’s different, so different. How many people are like me, having grown up never seeing a concert in their life? You miss out on so much. I, personally, would have lost my fucking mind if I saw BABYMETAL and KINGSLAYER perform live.

Goddamn.