the long month of may
Rather oddly, May felt like a long month. Typically that happens because there's a lot going on, but in this case it was sort of the opposite. Not that i wasn't busy in May between spending way too much money setting up and buying things for the apartment as well as writing music for Tulane's first halftime show and my percussion quartet, but it has the comparison of March and April to go against when things were So Fucking Crazy. i felt like i was constantly running 100mph leading up to my trip to Hawaii. once i came back, i had times when i felt like i could actually spend time relaxing in my new place either reading or playing a casual video game not as a mental break but because there was nothing Terribly Urgent happening.
A lot of my spare energy went into the apartment - more energy than i've ever put into a living space in my entire life. I've written briefly about why, but one aspect i didn't discuss is how my current job has steered me towards this more too in the fact that i have a lot more top-level responsibility for the visual design and branding of the TUMB - we're in final discussions about how to do our new uniform design. I'm the one that's pushed for a rebrand of our main TUMB logo as well as the look of our newsletter. When Mark and I are discussing show design, the visual integration with the aural which involves movement, color, props, all of that is stuff that i've developed at least a pseudo understanding of.
But more than the direct correlation, it's an attempt to have a more meticulous attention to detail about even the smallest and seemingly insignificant aspects. Things that are aesthetically pleasing visually combined with a sense of practicality as well as a feel that is truly my own - a more professional display of my personality, if you will, applied to the home.
An easy example: i bought an storage ottoman to go in my living room. Put it underneath my mounted telly set up. I bought it not only for storage, but also so that it could hide the outlet where all of my telly components that are on the wall right above it are plugged in. Problem was, the ottoman's feet were only about an inch high and the outlet was higher, so you could still see it visibly standing up or sitting on my futon. I thought about trying to buying some sort of single-shelf something to rest the ottoman on, but then i got to thinking that maybe the legs could be replaceable, so i went online to find replacement legs. Found 4-inch legs that matched the style of my ottoman's current legs. $40.
I spent $40 on furniture legs to visibly hide an electrical outlet.
The living room is close to finished in terms of how i want it to look and what i have to buy, which is good because i need to stop spending money on it. There's a loveseat i want to buy, but i may hold off on that one because the apartment is okay without it right now. I do want to buy a new coffee table, and probably a rug to go underneath it. I haven't been happy with the choices i've seen online - at least not exactly. i'm not sure if i'll be able to find something i want from a store around town, but i may.
In any case, it's at least good to be done enough with the domestic life so that i can put the energy that i need to back into the other independent projects i have going on. The percussion quartet is slow-going, but i'm making progress. I need to do some minor updates to the website. I need to put energy into the PNW trip i'm taking and the organization of all of that. And I need to start thinking of the new commission i got for Liminal Space and plan the spring 2014 concert.
Full speed ahead. Just not in a way that will get me a ticket.