Sunday March 26 2017

Waking up at 12:07 p.m. Ana and I get in the mood for sexual things.

Irish Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Black Tea.

Cleaning the bathroom thoroughly.

Chores.

Banana.

Shooting the basketball around in the cul-de-sac with Anthony and Allyson.

Toasted PB&J. Potato Chips. Grapefruit. Oolong Tea.

Watching Assassin’s Creed (2016).

Organizing and planning the next rock school session.

Picking up groceries and a Pizza from Whole Foods.

Pizza and a Salad. Blackberry Sparkling Water.

Muscat Grapes.

Working on technical stuff on the piano. Coming up with a few progressions.

Meanwhile, Skippy’s spending the night in Anthony’s room with Cynthia and some guy named Preston.

Sleep 4 a.m.

Saturday March 25 2017

^*

Waking up at 10:30 a.m.

Honey Crunch n Oats with Banana and Almond Milk.

Teaching afternoon lessons at Music Makers.

Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Non-Dairy Cream Cheese. Potato Chips with Avocado. Oolong Tea.

Watching Rogue One (2016).

Catching up on stuff.

Ana gets off work shortly after 6:30. We head to Norfolk for the Mini Lava Fest at Toast.

†

†

I love what’s happening in the music community in Norfolk. Being here amongst all this ambition, creativity, and talent. Josh Whittle points out all the amazing drummers in every band. At some point it almost feels like a drum clinic after watching HAUNTER...

Enjoying a Bean Burrito and Chips with Guac. Sipping on Beers and making our rounds mingling with all our friends.

Ladada’s set goes on longer than we thought. Carnations are thrown around on stage. Our shows aren’t complete without something going wrong with Josiah’s guitar but we press on and play some older tunes that we never practice anymore.

‡

‡

‡

‡

‡

While loading out Josiah realizes he locked his keys inside the van. The next hour is dedicated to prying the door and using a hanger to unlock the door. It’s a tedious task that involved more than enough people. Doug Nicolson somehow has the magic touch and manages to succeed. Good times.

Back home after 3 a.m.

http://altdaily.com/postpunk-paradise-notes-on-mini-lavafest-at-toast/

---

[*] Photo by Alex Justice. 
[†] Images by me. 

[‡] Photos by Jeff Hewitt.

Friday March 24 2017

[i]

Waking up at 11 a.m.

Steel Cut Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Guayusa Tea.

Running into Ana in the kitchen while making breakfast. She’s about to go to the gym. We have a little spat about leaving a container on the counter or something, nothing unusual for us to be half serious/half playfully bickering at each other. Texts later on...

Her: “Hey I’m sorry. I need to be more patient and kind to you if I expect you to reciprocate. I love you, and I don’t like arguing.”

Me: “It’s okay. I need to learn to be more patient with you too. But I love arguing actually! Not really.”

Her: “Hey. I get it. It is fun. It’s a playful way for us to be boisterous and theatrical! Warms up the vocal chords too.”

Business.

Tuna Salad Sandwich with Lettuce and Tomato. Salt n Vinegar Chips. Coffee.

Fun filled day of in-home lessons.

Fuji Apple. Coffee Cashews.

Back home.

Tempeh with Onions, Broccoli, Carrots, and Quinoa.

Watching Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).

Planning for the Spring recital.

Making a DIY air freshener using water, rubbing alcohol, and essential oils. I couldn’t just mix together a spray into an empty bottle. Gotta decorate and label!

Grapefruit.

Sleep 3 a.m.

---

[i] Image by me.

Thursday March 23 2017

[i]

Waking up at 11 a.m.

Irish Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Black Tea.

Teaching a lesson.

Getting groceries with Ana at Trader Joe’s.

Toasted PB&J. Potato Chips. Oolong Tea.

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

Banana.

Back home. Edamame, Japanese Style Rice, Cabbage, Kale, and Carrots.

Watching Incarnate (2016).

Ice Cream.

Planning the next rock school session.

Spending some time with Elvis and Ana.

Chamomile Tea.

Sleep 3:30 a.m.

---

[i] Image by me.

Wednesday March 22 2017

Waking up at 10:40 a.m.

Irish Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Guayusa Tea.

Basketball at the Rec.

Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Non-Dairy Cream Cheese. Corn Tortilla Chips with Avocado and Tomato. Oolong Tea.

Watching Miss Sloane (2016).

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

Fuji Apple.

After work Ana and I enjoy personal Pizzas at Your Pie across the street.

Working on things.

Sleep 3 a.m.

Tuesday March 21 2017

[i]

Waking up at 11 a.m.

A bowl of Honey Crunch n Oats with Banana and Almond Milk.

At the Verizon store with Joel, Danielle’s boyfriend, trying to work on transitioning the Music Makers phone from Sprint to Verizon. It’s quite a racket – costing my whole afternoon to deal with it. But Joel is very helpful and resourceful.

Tuna Salad Sandwich with Lettuce and Tomato. Potato Chips with Avocado. Black Tea.

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

Back home. I’m just in time to join Ana, Amelia, mom, and Will for dinner. Peas, Brussel Sprouts, Carrots, and Brown Rice. Cynthia walks in later on with a “Happy Birthday” hat on. Ana made her a Carrot Cake from scratch – delicious.

Ladada rehearsal at the Tidewater storage unit with Josiah, Bobby, and Jon. We Ladada’d hard tonight polishing up the set list for the show this coming Saturday.

Sleep 3:45 a.m.

---

[i] Images by me.

Monday March 20 2017

[i]

Waking up at 11 a.m.

Irish Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Guayusa Tea.

At the Rec working out.

Scrambled Eggs. Potato Chips with Avocado. Toast with Non-Dairy Cream Cheese. Oolong Tea.

Watching Silence (2016).

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

Back home. Making dinner: Lentils, Broccoli, Carrots, and Quinoa.

Filling out this discovery/brand worksheet for Red Chalk Studios – we’re in the process of constructing the brand story for Music Makers.

Ice Cream.

At the studio setting up a new bass I got.

Sleep 4 a.m.

---

[i] Image by me.

Sunday March 19 2017

[i]

Waking up at 12:08 p.m.

A bowl of Honey Crunch n Oats with Banana and Almond Milk. Black Tea.

Business.

Toasted PB&J. Potato Chips. Oolong Tea.

Finishing Live By Night (2016).

At Clay Garden Studio recording bass tracks for new Ladada tunes with Jackie, Josiah, and Andrew. It’s a fun collaborative effort when discussing particular bass riffs within the songs. In the end we accomplish some solid tracks.

Back home. Ana baked a few Pizzas from Kroger with Salads and leftover Beet Soup. We enjoy our share of the grub at the dining room table with Will and Amelia.

Fun and interesting things of the evening: Ana accidentally used salt inside of sugar when mixing up a cake batter from getting distracted while somebody was talking to her. Cynthia and Anthony have their first real relationship issue – I gave her advice beforehand.

Sleep 3:30 a.m.

---

[i] Images by me.

Saturday March 18 2017

Waking up at 11:22 a.m.

Irish Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Guayusa Tea.

Teaching afternoon lessons.

Scrambled Eggs. Corn Tortilla Chips with Avocado and Tomato. Oolong Tea.

Watching Live By Night (2016).

Organizing.

Napping.

Muscat Grapes.

Chores.

Dinner: Beer Battered Cod Filets, Slaw, and Sweet Potatoes.

Practicing my parts on the bass for Ladada songs cause tomorrow I’ll be recording them with Josiah.

Back home. Grapefruit.

Chilling with Ana in my bed – sex – sleep.

Friday March 17 2017

[i]

Waking up at 11:25 a.m.

Irish Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Black Tea.

Later on Ana comes into my room to say hi.

“So you never tell me why you love me? Could you at least tell me why you love me?” she asks with a big smile as she fiddles with the golden pothos leaves.

Stuck on the phone with Verizon trying to create a new business account.

Toasted PB&J. Potato Chips. Oolong Tea.

Teaching all my in-home lessons.

Errands.

Mom made a hearty dinner: Chicken, Cabbage, Potatoes, and Carrots. I throw in a French Baguette.

DEJA performing at Mugzy’s Warehouse in Hampton for the first time. It’s a cavernous sports bar – bar crawlers dressed in St. Patrick’s Day attire acting boisterous and drunk. In between sets I sit at the bar glancing at the NCAA tournament (March Madness). Next to me a dude with a hood on introduces himself as Richard and asks what my favorite bug is. It must be his trade or something. He says he’s got a whole room dedicated to ants.

Back home after 2 a.m. enjoying Muscat Grapes.

Sleep.

---

[i] Images by me.

Thursday March 16 2017

^[i]

Waking up at 10:40 a.m.

A bowl of Honey Crunch n Oats with Banana and Almond Milk.

Teaching a few early afternoon lessons.

Errands.

Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Non-Dairy Cream Cheese. Salt n Vinegar Chips with Avocado. Oolong Tea.

Teaching lessons at Music Makers all day.

Back home. Dinner: Lentils, Kale, Carrots, and Brown Rice.

Ladada rehearsal with Bobby, Josiah, and Jonathan.

Back home. Grapefruit. Chamomile Tea.

Sleep 3:30 a.m.

---

[i] Image by me.

Wednesday March 15 2017

[i]

Waking up at 10:45 a.m.

Steel Cut Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Black Tea.

Basketball at the Rec.

Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Non-Dairy Cream Cheese. Tortilla Chips with Avocado and Tomato. Oolong Tea.

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

Honey Crisp Apple.

Ana and I grab some last minute groceries from Trader Joe’s.

Back home. Cooking dinner in a team effort with Ana and mom: Pappardelle Noodles with Kale Slaw and Garlic Bread.

Business.

Orange.

Fine tuning my bass parts for Ladada songs – we’re recording bass this Sunday so I need to be prepared.

Sleep 4 a.m.

---

[i] Image by me.

Tuesday March 14 2017

[i]

Waking up at 11:20 a.m.

Irish Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Guayusa Tea.

Business.

Toasted PB&J. Honey Crisp Apple. Oolong Tea.

Teaching lessons all day at Music Makers.

Back home. Leftovers for dinner: Salmon, Kale, Carrots, Beans, Bamboo Rice, and Naan Bread.

Watching My All-American (2015).

Teaching my online piano lesson to Katelyn.

Finishing up my taxes! Whoo. Ana comes in later on and catches me in the act. I’ve got Scarlatti’s harpsichord sonatas blaring away in the background while I crunch all these numbers. It sounds almost like Tetris, suspenseful and fast paced.

“You’re playing Tetris with your taxes,” she comments with a grin.

Sleep 4 a.m.

---

[i] Image by me.

Monday March 13 2017

Waking up at 10:45 a.m.

Blueberry Oat Flakes with Banana and Almond Milk. Black Tea.

Basketball at the Rec.

Scrambled Eggs. Sourdough Bread with Non-Dairy Cream Cheese. Salt n Vinegar Chips with Avocado. Oolong Tea.

Watching Jackie (2016).

Teaching lessons at Music Makers all day.

Back home. Tempeh, Onions, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Onions, and Quinoa.

Continuing where I left off with my taxes.

Grapefruit. Chamomile Tea.

Sleep 4 a.m.

Sunday March 12 2017

[i]

Waking up sometime around noon.

Ana and I go to Commune for brunch: Haitian Coffee, Sorghum Pancakes, Egg Sandwich, and Apples. The caffeine and the freedom that can only be felt on day like Sunday kicks in to keep our minds chattering to each other about this and that.

Back home. Time to keep with the mental energy and put it to good use. I declare the rest of the day TAX DAY! Whoo!

Snack time: PB&J on Sourdough. Grapefruit. Oolong Tea.

I’m drowning in all this tax mumbo jumbo! My eyes glued to the computer screen working through this tax software – crunching numbers – flipping through studio reports. I’m going crazy!

Ice Cream.

Ana and I jam at the studio for a long while.

Sleep at 3:30 a.m.

---

[i] Image by me.

Saturday March 11 2017

Waking up at 10:30 a.m.

Honey Crunch n Oats with Banana and Almond Milk. Black Tea.

Teaching lessons at Music Makers all afternoon.

Back home. Toasted PB&J. Potato Chips. Oolong Tea.

Watching Fences (2016).

Time for a powernap.

Late evening errands.

Salmon, Black Beans, Kale, Carrots, and Bamboo Rice.

Ice Cream.

Taxes!

Chores.

Sex and sleep next to Ana at 4 a.m. (would’ve been 3 but daylight savings and all)

Friday March 10 2017

[i]

Waking up at 11:22 a.m.

Steel Cut Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Guayusa Tea.

Organizing all the photos from the rock school show.

Business.

Scrambled Eggs. Sourdough Bread with Non-Dairy Cream Cheese. Tortilla Chips with Avocado and Tomato. Oolong Tea.

Teaching all my in-home lessons.

Jolin likes to grab my phone frequently and record videos. While doing one she forgets what the piano is called...

After all the lessons are done I gulp down some dinner at the house: Sprouted Black Beans, Kale, Carrots, and Quinoa. I take my mom to the DEJA gig tonight at Wing King. My dad’s been in town the past few days. Him and her sit next to each other at the table and watch. During the break between sets I comment to them how nice it is to see them sitting next to each other.

“I don’t get to see this often,” I say.

They both smile a bit shyly. My mom says she’s impressed with DEJA’s performance every time she sees us.

“That’s our son!” she exclaims to dad. “You should be proud!”

And I know he is. He’s happy to be able to spend time in Virginia Beach with us.

Back home. Banana. Chamomile Tea.

There’s a ruckus in Anthony’s room. What year is it? 2012? It sounds like the past at 1435.

Trying to sleep at 3:30 a.m.

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[i] Images by me.

Thursday March 9 2017

Waking up at 11 a.m.

Honey Crunch n Oats with Almond Milk. Black Tea.

Teaching early afternoon lessons.

Toasted PB&J on Sourdough. Potato Chips. Grapefruit. Oolong Tea.

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

Fuji Apple.

Back home. Mom makes dinner: Tempeh with Onions, Mushrooms, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots, and Sprouted Brown Rice.

Watching Passengers (2016).

Ladada rehearsal with Bobby, Josiah, and Jonathan. Fine tweaking new songs.

Cookies. Chamomile Tea.

Sleep 3:30 a.m.

Wednesday March 8 2017

[i]

Waking up at 10:30 a.m.

Steel Cut Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Guayusa Tea.

Basketball at the Rec.

Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Non-Dairy Cream Cheese. Potato Chips with Avocado. Oolong Tea.

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

My dad shows up to the studio right after my last lesson. He’s here to support my aunt Pansy when she gets surgery in the morning. We take a trip to Trader Joe’s to get a few things.

Dinner: Cannellini Beans, Peas, Onions, Kale, Carrots, and Quinoa.

Practicing DEJA tunes at the studio.

Navel Orange.

Sleep 3 a.m.

---

[i] Image by me.

Tuesday March 7 2017

[i]

Waking up at 10:30 a.m.

Honey Crunch n Oats with Banana and Almond Milk.

Catching up on business.

Toasted PB&J on Sourdough Bread. Potato Chips. Black Tea.

Watching Kill Command (2016).

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

Back home. Ana makes dinner: Salmon with Broccoli, Carrots, and Sprouted Brown Rice.

One of my former students, Katelyn, moved away to San Diego a few months back. Her mom reached out to me about keeping up with her lessons online with me. So tonight we tried it and it turned out great.

At the studio with Ana just to play music together. Cynthia drops by and learns how to play drums from us.

Enjoying Babka bread back home.

Ana’s been super bummed for no particular reason, probably a deeply internal one. I try to talk with her about it in her room. She’s crying. It’s some kind of psychological filter over her reality.

She puts ice cubes over her eyes to stop the swelling cause they’ll get all puffy in the morning if she doesn’t.

Sleep 3 a.m.

---

[i] Images by me.

Monday March 6 2017

Waking up at 10:45 a.m.

Irish Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Raisins, Maple Syrup, and Kefir. Guayusa Tea.

Basketball at the Rec.

Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Non-Dairy Cream Cheese. Corn Tortilla Chips with Avocado and Tomato.

Watching Frailty (2002).

Teaching lessons at Music Makers.

Back home. Making dinner: Linguini Pasta with Red Peppers, Onions, Kale, and Naan Bread.

Catching up on business.

Testing the best way to do an online piano lesson – starting this tomorrow night with one of my students who moved to San Diego.

Playing with Elvis and Ana.

Sleep 3 a.m.