04-18-2023, 02:56 PM
Oh, you'll be sorry you asked.
Having discovered to my chagrin that El Lay had layers and layers of artifice and nuance that I could not even comprehend, I beat feet back to New England once my father took ill. He subsequently passed on five years ago, just in time for my mother to begin to deteriorate. I am now a full-time caregiver in the sense that I cook the meals, run the errands, and make sure the house doesn't collapse on top of her, though there are days when frankly I wish it would.
Before she broke her hip this past Christmas, I was at least able to get out and do a pretty fair chunk of gigging with a local cover band or three. That's gone now, the bands that were active pre-pandemic seem to have reorganized themselves post-pandemic, and I'm really not able to leave the old lady alone for an evening without worrying that she's going to get into some mischief out of her physical disability or her oncoming dementia. Aside from that, a couple of my fingers are now arthritic and it can be a royal pain to play, let alone practice.
I am still prepping the next Atfulcrum album however. It's close. In fact it's been close for years now. The image I like to use is that I make Peter Gabriel look slapdash and unconcerned.
It's not all doom and gloom in Fulcrumville. My SO currently lives and works in Oakland, and historically I've been able to jet out to the Left Coast for a conjugal visit once a season, though with my mom in the state she's in nowadays I've had to content myself with the odd video call on Zoom or Discord.
And I do have happy memories of more carefree days lollygagging around a forum with you lot. Can I say I'm thrilled to be back?
Having discovered to my chagrin that El Lay had layers and layers of artifice and nuance that I could not even comprehend, I beat feet back to New England once my father took ill. He subsequently passed on five years ago, just in time for my mother to begin to deteriorate. I am now a full-time caregiver in the sense that I cook the meals, run the errands, and make sure the house doesn't collapse on top of her, though there are days when frankly I wish it would.
Before she broke her hip this past Christmas, I was at least able to get out and do a pretty fair chunk of gigging with a local cover band or three. That's gone now, the bands that were active pre-pandemic seem to have reorganized themselves post-pandemic, and I'm really not able to leave the old lady alone for an evening without worrying that she's going to get into some mischief out of her physical disability or her oncoming dementia. Aside from that, a couple of my fingers are now arthritic and it can be a royal pain to play, let alone practice.
I am still prepping the next Atfulcrum album however. It's close. In fact it's been close for years now. The image I like to use is that I make Peter Gabriel look slapdash and unconcerned.
It's not all doom and gloom in Fulcrumville. My SO currently lives and works in Oakland, and historically I've been able to jet out to the Left Coast for a conjugal visit once a season, though with my mom in the state she's in nowadays I've had to content myself with the odd video call on Zoom or Discord.
And I do have happy memories of more carefree days lollygagging around a forum with you lot. Can I say I'm thrilled to be back?