"Hey, it's good to be back home again..."
...and thus I've come full circle.
Um... yeah. Nothing really changed, and at the same time, everything changed. Or maybe it's just me... but either way, it's nothing that wasn't expected, though maybe it was a little sad.
I've spent the last two nights hanging out with Misha, and I'll spend the next two with her as well. Tuesday night, we went to the Yardbird Suite jam - and that was kind of... I don't know. As we were driving there, we both were like "man, the Yardbird Suite jams were always so awesome, I wonder why we stopped going in the first place!" and then, pretty much as soon as we stepped into the club, we remembered. It was the same musicians playing the same real-book standards the same way, with the same bad attitudes and snottiness that were always there. I was sick of it two years ago, and I'm no less sick of it now. I mean... for crap's sake, it's an amateur jazz jam... leave the attitudes at the door, and either make some good music as a team - which is the way I believe all music should be played - or get out. But don't give me your superior attitude. The jams at the Suite were never meant to be cutting contests.
Today was my Nana's "not-funeral". My Nana recently passed away, as I've mentioned before. She was always adamant about not wanting a funeral, and it's been terribly stressful on my mom, my uncle and my Papa to figure out how best for all her family and friends to say goodbye while still respecting her wishes. Up until yesterday, I thought that this event was going to be a total disaster, but it actually turned out really well, and so many people showed up. My uncle made a slide show of some pictures of her life, some of which I'd never seen, and my mom talked about her, and told some stories that I didn't know. It was really nice to see how she touched so many people's lives, and hear their stories about how they all knew her. There were, as always, some awkward family moments - mostly concerning great-aunts, of which I have a lot! - along the lines of "My, how you've grown since I've last seen you!" and "Don't you remember who I am?" and "Will you sing for us, just a little song?" and of course, confusing me with my mother in the classic "It's great to see you, Cath- I mean, Erin." Le sigh. But, such things are to be expected at family gatherings with lots of great-aunts. Overall, the "not-funeral" went over very well, and I think my Nana would have approved of its "not-funeral"-ness :)
Tonight is another jam, which will hopefully be less shitty than the previous one. It is a jam that is traditionally AWESOME, because it's mostly people who are from my year of GMac who jam there, and they are all awesome - it will be great to catch up on jamming and chatting with them. Hoorays!
Anyways... it just seems weird to have such a small time in Edmonton... I'm anxious to get back to Boston, but there's a tiny little part of me that wants to stay... again, le sigh. It's all part of growing up, I suppose :)
Um... yeah. Nothing really changed, and at the same time, everything changed. Or maybe it's just me... but either way, it's nothing that wasn't expected, though maybe it was a little sad.
I've spent the last two nights hanging out with Misha, and I'll spend the next two with her as well. Tuesday night, we went to the Yardbird Suite jam - and that was kind of... I don't know. As we were driving there, we both were like "man, the Yardbird Suite jams were always so awesome, I wonder why we stopped going in the first place!" and then, pretty much as soon as we stepped into the club, we remembered. It was the same musicians playing the same real-book standards the same way, with the same bad attitudes and snottiness that were always there. I was sick of it two years ago, and I'm no less sick of it now. I mean... for crap's sake, it's an amateur jazz jam... leave the attitudes at the door, and either make some good music as a team - which is the way I believe all music should be played - or get out. But don't give me your superior attitude. The jams at the Suite were never meant to be cutting contests.
Today was my Nana's "not-funeral". My Nana recently passed away, as I've mentioned before. She was always adamant about not wanting a funeral, and it's been terribly stressful on my mom, my uncle and my Papa to figure out how best for all her family and friends to say goodbye while still respecting her wishes. Up until yesterday, I thought that this event was going to be a total disaster, but it actually turned out really well, and so many people showed up. My uncle made a slide show of some pictures of her life, some of which I'd never seen, and my mom talked about her, and told some stories that I didn't know. It was really nice to see how she touched so many people's lives, and hear their stories about how they all knew her. There were, as always, some awkward family moments - mostly concerning great-aunts, of which I have a lot! - along the lines of "My, how you've grown since I've last seen you!" and "Don't you remember who I am?" and "Will you sing for us, just a little song?" and of course, confusing me with my mother in the classic "It's great to see you, Cath- I mean, Erin." Le sigh. But, such things are to be expected at family gatherings with lots of great-aunts. Overall, the "not-funeral" went over very well, and I think my Nana would have approved of its "not-funeral"-ness :)
Tonight is another jam, which will hopefully be less shitty than the previous one. It is a jam that is traditionally AWESOME, because it's mostly people who are from my year of GMac who jam there, and they are all awesome - it will be great to catch up on jamming and chatting with them. Hoorays!
Anyways... it just seems weird to have such a small time in Edmonton... I'm anxious to get back to Boston, but there's a tiny little part of me that wants to stay... again, le sigh. It's all part of growing up, I suppose :)