1st set meditation

Lots of personal posts to come these next few weeks, I expect. I wanted to take this opportunity during setbreak in Woodstock to set down a few things that I was thinking about during the first set.

I've gotten a few cautionary letters from concerned onlookers of my situation, most of them warning me of the pitfalls of this decision that I've made. First, I want to let you know that I've been making the internal preparations for this move for well over a year. It was about that long ago that the force inside me that's guided me very reliably through my first 31 years here on earth began to lead me to this public announcement of my decision. Second, I want you to know that I've never ignored that force. That force told me to print up business cards the week before I met John Skehan for the first time. Third, I have no idea what I'd do without that force. I might have had some crappy job that I hated for the last seven years instead of touring the world with a fantastic band. Fourth, trading this interesting, creative job down for some cubicle job programming VB is not what I have in mind (no offense to VB). I have a very specific, interesting, creative idea that I've been working on that I'm gonna have a whack at, but it's a long shot. I have some other interesting, creative options on the table, and I feel hopeful that one of them will pan out. Fifth, and this is probably going to be the most difficult for some of you to believe, but the worst case scenario - unemployment, bankruptcy, foreclosure - still makes me feel more optimistic about the future than the prospect of ignoring that force.

That's all. Gotta finish a show.