Come in on 3. 1...2...

Tonight I got to visit a recording studio in Baoding, China. A musician's wet dream complete with Mac computers and elite keyboards with ivory keys long enough to satisfy almost any pianist who is used to touching the real thing. A lonely baby grand rested in one of the recording rooms, whispering at me to come hither but I ignored its pleas. The first thing I'm gonna buy when I make a lot of money and decide to plant myself somewhere is a baby grand, or at least something like it.

A room like this is like a bright Post-It reminding me to get my shit together.

I may not be a teacher forever but I like it and I'm good at it. I'm not feeling so helpless like I was in the past, when I didn't know what I wanted for a career. I still may not know for the heavy long term but I'm content with what I'm doing for the time being and that speaks volumes for me. The things that really give me joy don't usually supply a paycheck, so if I can get paid for something I'm satisfied doing, then that works for me. If I can afford equipment, such as mics, a shitty acoustic (or electric!!), pedals, cables and maybe an amp, then essentially I'll be getting paid to do what I want to do, inadvertently.

The guy who runs this studio, Crava, gets paid to play with these toys. How does one put his foot in that kind of door? I could've asked him but I'll admit to being a bit shy. If I got paid to do that I might not ever leave. It reminds me of my radio station days in college, where I was also the production manager for a bit. I would record liners, ads and PSAs for the station, but it never felt like work. I'd look at my watch and the next thing I knew, hours had passed and the sun was gone. Or in high school, when I got into the video class and pieced together my first music video in the editing suite. I skipped other classes and got unexcused absences because I didn't want to leave the room. It's a wonderful feeling when you stumble across passion like that, when time just disappears while you're being totally productive.

Sure, I'll get my shit together. In fact, I think it's coming together nicely. I have a stable job, I'm writing again and I've been forcing myself to mess with my music almost daily, like exercise or taking vitamins. I think the more progress I make with my own projects, the more confident I will be in stepping into other projects in the outside world, like stepping into a sound studio. To have all those bright, shiny buttons at the touch of my fingertips...at any time...wow. I sincerely doubt I'd ever leave the room. It's nights like these that motivate me, that not all things we want in life are impossible to obtain. I'm really glad I went. And I'm really glad I got to touch those keys.

Thanks, friends, for inviting me. :0)