So much to say, so little to talk about

A lot has been happening around the place lately. If anything, there hasn't been time to rest, or blog for that matter. However, I decided to update my small but significant readership (read: fans) with some updates of what's doin'.

Today I went to a friends son birthday party. His 1st one of his life. The strong little guy was born 3 months premature and my friend and his wife spent just about that period of time waiting for the little guy to reach a certain weight before being allowed to leave the hospital.

My friend sent me update photos every now and then. Images of the little mans hand wrapped around my friends finger nail. He was about as small as the palm of your hand. It was amazing how tiny he was and such a survivor, such a trooper.

In other news, the other day I got a call from a real estate agent who I saw about a place for my music school, and we negotiated a rental agreement. However, he went to the owners of the premises and came back to me with the original offer he gave me. In other words, they aren't interested in negotiating.

The thing is, I want to try and get it as cheap as possible. But at the same time, it's pretty reasonably priced to begin with. So I might try to offer another term on the lease of the place and see if they budge.

Better news; I have two more guitar students who have started lessons with me, and one of my existing students has just passed Stage 1 of his tuition. 6 more stages to go with his junior level, then 4 senior levels and he can get a Diploma in Music.

I was approached by a local council to put in an offer for an event that will promote the Fair they plan on holding in a local park, and wanted me out the front with a drum circle to promote peoples interest to the Fair, ask the on-lookers to participate and then head into the Fair to see what other people are showcasing.

I sent them a quote, offering my drum circle at a highly reduced price, in the vein that I will be heavily promoting the music school and making a tremendous amount of contacts.

They contacted me the following day saying YES! and then asked me if there was anything I needed to help with the drum circle. So I asked how many chairs they think I need to bring. They said they'll provide the chairs. I asked if I can set up a marque? They said one will be provided.

In fact the only thing I need to do is turn up, bring my drums, djembes and cajones and make sure I have a ton of business cards, pamphlets and a sign that says who I am so people are aware of Revolution Guitars.

A brilliant opportunity that I can't pass up. Hopefully the discount I offered help get the job, and even more hopeful that it pays off with clientele. Fingers crossed.

On the gig front, Craig and I have played a few more gigs, and we had a chat the other day about really starting to get paid for the gigs we play. That would be nice. The reception we're getting from the gigs we play has been good. So hopefully we can start organising some paid work there. Craig and I enjoy playing music together, so it would be great if we start getting some money for the hard work we've done to make this happen. I'm working on a MySpace page that has nothing on it at the moment. So bare with the sparcity of the site right now, but we will have some more videos and music up on it soon that I think you'll like.

Well, that's pretty much it. Nothing philosophical to say this time around. Nothing special, just life updates and happenings.

Drum Circle developments

I finally got word back from the local council regarding facilitating free community drum circles.

The short answer is, they're really not interested.

The long answer is, they can allow me to do it but in light of the girl getting shut down with her lemonade stand, I have discovered that I need two things for a free drum circle.

1. Money - The council wants me to pay them to use the public park I already pay for with my taxes.
2. Public Liability - I need to be insured in case someone drops a drum on their foot and sues me.

This has made trying to get a drum circle up and running a lot more difficult that it really needs to be.

In totally opposite news, I have a good friend who works for Hurstville council and has told me about an up and coming Fair the council is putting on to showcase what they have to offer and allow the community to join together.... hey! A council that encourages community and bringing people together, not discouraging it with insurance and fees, etc.

So I've been asked to provide 10 drums, start playing and encouraging passer by'ers to sit and play some rhythms hopefully to encourage them to take part in getting into the Fair. I'm apparently setting up out the front somewhere.

I'm planning on buying some more djembes and also getting one of those roll out signs made up that you see at conventions and stuff. The ones that you roll open and then stick a pole behind it to stay open. Then take the pole out when you're done to allow the poster to contract back into the roller shutter thingy.

I'll also probably get a small marque. Something big enough for ten people to sit around in a circle. Just to keep the sun off. Though if it's under cover, I won't bother with that expense until I get big enough to bother with that sort of expense.

I've found a place that I'm going to see on Tuesday and try to negotiate with the agent for a couple of months free rent which will allow me to get started without much outlay of funds. I'll have to paint the place and as I get more students I'll start building more rooms.

A fresh coat of paint and some signage is all it needs for now. Stay tuned (pun intended).

I'm riled up

I love sticking it to the man. Any chance I get, there's nothing more fun than sticking it to the man.

But when the man sticks it to a person, and that person is harmless, I get riled up. I get pissed off. I feel like giving the man what the man deserves. A punch in the face.

This article pretty much sums up why I feel this way.

If you can't be bothered reading it, I'll summerise:

A little girl decides to open a lemonade stand. Her mother helps her do it.

While we were young we did this sort of thing, but we did it in front of our house. This girl did it at a Fair.

Inspectors come by, completely by chance and shut her down or she'll get a $500 fine for not having a license to sell food products.

Now, I can see the issue here. What if someone chokes on a pip from the lemon, or someone cuts themselves or falls in front of the lemonade stand, or lightening strikes the stand, with the shock running through the dispenser, into the cup and out to the customer. I can see how this could be an issue.

However, things are very different. There's no glass, there's no pips, there is no lightening. Just a cute little girl trying to be an entrepreneur. Then getting shut down by the man.

Why couldn't they have just turned the blind eye, seen a kid trying to do something positive, and go and shut down the local pizza joint who probably clears all the roaches from the cardboard boxes every evening before opening up the restaurant?

Because they're arseholes.

Point Plomer Photos

As promised, here are photos from Point Plomer.

Kookaburra resting on a tree trunk.

Lorikeet enjoying nectar from the bottle brush tree.

Me, rising out of a pile of turds.

Me, performing on guitar with my Cajon sitting in the background where a drum kit was set up moments before hand.

One of the hidden caves on our walk along the beach.

Alone, midday on the beach.

The tide going out.

Storm coming in from the West.

Nothing like seeing your foot prints on the beach and no one else's first thing in the morning.

I hope you enjoy all the photos from Point Plomer. I'll have more later in the year when I head back in November.

What do you want?

I'm not sure what will be written over the next few paragraphs, so bare with me.

There are things in life one likes and there are things in life one dislikes. It's often seen that in actual fact, we do things and have things we like, and perhaps there are some things in our life that we dislike. That sounds like I am repeating myself, but think about it.

Really think about it. You have stuff, do things, have friends, possessions, work, etc that we may enjoy, but there's always a part of it you don't. With more than enough self-help books out there, with people looking for the ultimate answer on how to put their life back on the straight, why is it that our lives are more complicated than ever?

There always seems to be a fix for something. Is it because there's always a problem?

Why is there always a problem? After all, we are in charge of our own lives. So why do we put ourselves into a position where we do things we dislike? We get into awkward situations that we don't want or like. But how does this happen when we are in control?

Is is society? Is it peer pressure? Is it just that things come and go unnoticed?

How do you find the situation you're in? Are you happy or content?