This is an open and unfiltered diary-style journal
on the life of James Robert Smith.
This blog will contain sometimes graphic experiences (both beautiful and ugly),
sometimes stark insight, and all honest and factual documentation of dreams, diet, activity, and thoughts.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk.
Breakfast Tea.
Another workout session with Vlad.
Vega Protein Shake.
Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Butter and Jam. Salt n Vinegar
Chips with Avocado.
At Music Makers teaching a few lessons but mainly watching
the front desk. Rachel wasn’t able to come in today. I take the opportunity to
catch up on communications with people – prepping for MMLIVE.
Back home. Warming up leftovers for dinner.
Watching Away
(2020).
Chores.
Playing DOOM.
Sleep next to Ana but first we make late night fire.
Cereal with Blueberries and Almond Milk. Breakfast Tea.
Catching up on business.
Cleaning up a messy area in one of the lesson rooms where we
have a bunch of power cords hanging.
Scrambled Eggs. Biscuit with Butter and Jam. Orange
Honeydew. Cold Brew Coffee.
Watching Away
(2020).
Teaching lessons at Music Makers. It’s somewhat of a hectic
day since the kids started public school back, virtually though.
Off work. Ana and I grab some Bangkok Garden for dinner:
Chicken Pad Thai with Broccoli and Spring Rolls.
She puts on an episode of Sister, Sister (1994).
Composing a mass email for Music Makers to promote fall
MMLIVE session.
Later on, at the studio. I organize things while Ana plays
guitar in the waiting room. We’ve both been eager to play music. I don’t know
why I haven’t really sat down and played in a while.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk.
Breakfast Tea.
Another workout session with Vlad.
Vega Protein Shake.
Scrambled Eggs. Biscuit with Butter and Jam. Popped Chips.
Cold Brew Coffee.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers. It’s a light day of
teaching but also doing a lot of planning and coordinating.
Back home. Ana started roasting some veggies. She’s
preoccupied on the phone with Erica so I take over the rest of dinner. Cooking
Vegan Burgers with Cauliflower, Carrots, Onions, and Corn Tortilla Chips.
“What’re we gonna do? Just watch each other while we eat?”
Ana exclaims insinuating we should watch a show or a movie.
“Exactly!” I respond. “We’re entertaining enough to watch.”
Waking up around 10:30 a.m. Elvis lies on our stomachs and
backs asking for cuddles.
Cereal with Blueberries and Almond Milk. Black Tea.
Ana and I decide to attend church at Freedom Fellowship for
the 11 o’clock service. I’ve been meaning to go for a long while now. It
definitely would’ve made mom happy. She was always trying to get me to go to
church during the days we didn’t do rock school.
...
Pastor Rick preaches on stirring up purpose and how people
tend to seek out satisfaction in so many different things in life all the while
not realizing their true purpose. So many good relatable points he makes and
all along with down-to-earth humor. I’ve been really emotional this weekend for
some reason so all of this mixed in the music I really feel all the feels.
Afterwards, Ana and I hit up Three Ships for their new Kale
Melts and Cold Brew Coffees. Sitting out on the patio under those black and
white striped umbrellas talking about everything.
Back home. Catching up on business. Power napping.
Playing some pickup basketball.
Ana and I warm up a mix of leftovers and other things for
dinner: Jackfruit/Tempeh with Kale, Carrots, Rice, and Veggie Pot Stickers.
Cereal with Blueberries and Almond Milk. Breakfast Tea.
Teaching a few afternoon lessons.
Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Butter and Jam. Leftover Potatoes
and Veggies. Cold Brew Coffee.
Watching this new Netflix series called Away (2020). And it has me bawling my eyes out. I didn’t know a
space drama could do that.
Catching up on business and chores.
Supposed to have an early Ladada band practice tonight at 8
p.m. I bring Pizza to share. With Josiah, Elliott, and Josh McHugh on drums.
We’re jamming with Josh for fun and to keep the momentum going. It’s been quite
a number of years since I played music with him. He breaks about 10 sticks
throughout the night from hitting the drums so hard. Hanging outside in the
parking lot for a long while – he has plenty of humorous work stories to tell.
Elliott and I discover a fig tree and rosemary bush nearby. I pick off a few
ripe figs.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk.
Breakfast Tea.
Meeting with Vlad for another training session. He notices a
difference in my arms in the way they look and how I’m lifting – much
improvement.
Vega Protein Shake.
The maintenance guy drops by to investigate why all of a
sudden the shower is causing a leak in the ceiling. He figures out a small
damaged O ring was the culprit so every time the shower function was turned on
it caused pressure to the water and sprayed behind the wall.
Ana and I drive out to Norfolk to enjoy some lunch at Café
Stella.
Egg, Ham, and Tomato English Muffin. Cold Brew Coffee.
Then, checking out Less Than, a new store that opened up
offering refills on every household cleaning imaginable and offering all these
sustainable things. It’s really cool. You bring in your own containers and
simply refill rather than constantly buying detergent and cleaners in single
use bottles and containers. I love this concept!
Back home. Organizing things.
At Lynnhaven Park playing a few pickup games of basketball.
Competing with dudes I’ve never played with before. They keep calling me Larry
(Larry Bird) cause of all these hook and long range shots.
Afterwards, I get the pleasure of being able to take a
shower in the newly renovated shower and it’s awesome. I know mom would’ve been
pleased to see this if she were still around. I hated her having to use that
dirty shower all the time.
Back home. Ana and I cook dinner: leftover Beans with
leftover Vegetables and Rice.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk.
Breakfast Tea.
Catching up on business.
I hired some detailing dudes to wash/detail mom’s truck.
It’s amazing what a difference it makes – looking all shiny and new. I know mom’s
smiling down from above.
Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Butter and Jam. Spinach. Salt n
Vinegar Chips. Cold Brew Coffee.
Watching World’s Most
Wanted (2020).
Teaching lessons at Music Makers.
Back home. Ana’s cooking dinner while Erica visits. Meanwhile,
the boys and I were all excited to use the newly renovated shower and come to
find out after Roland starts a shower the ceiling in the dining room starts
leaking and pockets of water form. Hm...this
looks familiar. We’ve been through this debacle a few other times in the
past. But man, it feels like we can’t catch a break in this house. It’s just
one thing after the other!
Cleaning up the kitchen and other chores.
Playing with Elvis in Ana’s room.
Her and I get into another misunderstanding. Sleeping it
off.
Cereal with Blueberries and Almond Milk. Breakfast Tea.
Catching up on business and chores.
Getting some groceries from Whole Foods.
Hard Boiled Eggs with Spinach, Beets, and Tomatoes. Cinnamon
Raisin Bagel with Vegan Cream Cheese. Cold Brew Coffee.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers.
Back home. Ana and I warm up leftovers. Watching The Karate Kid Part II (1986).
Chillin’ with Ana in her bedroom. She had some things to
vent to me about in regards to her band and how that broken window incident
makes her afraid when driving in Norfolk. At some point we get into a little
argument but we sort it out by the end.
Cereal with Blueberries and Almond Milk. Breakfast Tea.
Catching up on business and emails and printing – there’s
always a lot to manage on the 1st of the month.
Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Butter and Jam. Salt n Vinegar
Chips with Avocado. Cold Brew Coffee.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers. It’s a pretty easy going
day since I only have two lessons. Haley, my hour long one, is always a
draining one but in a positive way. She’s so talented and hyper active in her
mind.
Playing a few pick-up basketball games out by Lynnhaven
Park. The game becomes a never-ending game after a while cause we make it a
“win by 2” scenario. My team scores then the other team scores. Back and forth.
It almost lasts an hour. I’m not given the ball too much besides a few easy
layups. During games like this I focus on my defense and setting screens for
the scorers. All the sweating and hard work pays off cause we make it out with
a victory.
Back home. Ana cooked dinner: Tempeh Jackfruit BBQ Wraps
with Spinach and Corn on the Cob. Simple meals I love.
Ana and I rustle up out of the house – on to Three Ships to
collect more coffee beans and cold brew coffees – then on to Duck Donuts to
treat ourselves. Lately, we’ve discovered there’s a lack of local donut shops
in Virginia Beach. We park across the street in the shade enjoying our sweet
fried breakfast talking about music.
At home. Catching up on chores – vacuuming and organizing.
Scrambled Eggs. Kale. Toast with Vegan Cream Cheese.
Breakfast Tea.
Over at Lynnhaven basketball courts playing a few full court
pick-up games. Afterwards, I’m shocked to find my basketball is missing. Most
likely someone grabbed it by accident but it being a unique black ball I’m
surprised.
Back home. Ana got
dinner started. I clean myself up and finish the rest.
Enjoying Vegan Burgers with Roasted Zucchini and Potatoes in
the living room. After watching all those Cobra
Kai episodes it got me inspired to re-watch The Karate Kid movies. So we put on the first one that came out in
1984, my birth year. Ana points out how similar the mom in the movie acts like
my mom. I always felt a connection to movies that had son and single mother
characters cause it reminded me of how I grew up. For a good while as a boy it
was just my mom and I. My dad always lived in NC but most of the time it was
just her and I.
After watching the first half Ana and I try our hand at a
few karate moves.
Cereal with Blueberries and Almond Milk. Breakfast Tea.
Ana and I create our ultimate to-do list for the day – many
things to do. Return bed piece to IKEA. Clear area in my room for maintenance
to repair drywall above window. Put Ana’s new bed together. Pick up things.
At home I get a frantic call from Ana. She’s freaking out
cause the truck just stopped running on her way back from IKEA. Now she’s stuck
on VB Blvd. A cop helped push it off road. I drive over and inspect. It’s just
one thing after the other in our world. First her window gets smashed in last
night from some angry road rage guy. Then this. Turns out the truck just needed
a few quarts of oil and some coolant. Voila!
Back home. Continuing the tasks at hand. Putting my room
back together where they did the drywall repair. Doing laundry. Helping Ana get
rid of her old mattress. Building/putting the wood bed frame together. There are
some difficult moments but I get it all in working order. Her new bed is
finally ready!
We head out to Pizza Chapel for Pizza, Garlic Knots, and
Gose’s.
Cleaning up more and organizing. This whole day has been a
frenzy. But it’s finally done.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk.
Breakfast Tea.
At Houze of Champions doing another weight training session
with Vlad. Today is upper body intensive. I hit points of failure but it feels
great.
Vega Protein Shake.
Scrambled Eggs. Sourdough Toast with Butter and Jam.
Tomatoes. Cold Brew Coffee.
Watching Cobra Kai
(2018).
Long day of teaching lessons at Music Makers. There’s always
so much going on all at once. My phone is blowing up with text messages and stuff
is happening at the studio.
Back home. Leftover Beans with Kale, Carrots, and Brown
Rice/Quinoa.
Ana calls after being involved in a road rage incident. She
was just leaving band practice and hanging out with her friends. Some guy got
out of his car at a stoplight and cussed her out over running through a red
light or something. He starts shaking her car and manages to punch through her
back driver’s side window. She’s a little shook up shall we say over it.
...
We talk it over cookies and try to make sense of it.
Cereal with Blueberries and Almond Milk. Black Tea.
At the studio taking care of all kinds of scheduling. The
shift from summer to fall always brings with it many calendar changes.
Scrambled Eggs. Spinach. Sourdough Toast with Butter and
Jam. Cold Brew Coffee.
Watching Cobra Kai
(2018).
Teaching lessons at Music Makers.
After work Ana and I enjoy Pho Noodle Soups at Pho 79.
Quick trip to Target to return something.
Back home. I continue working on organizing and uploading the
photography from the last MMLIVE show. It takes a lot of work posting on all
the different online outlets.
Chores – washing dishes – kitchen stuff.
After I hop out of the shower Ana and I have a little spat.
I don’t really know what to appropriately call it. Sometimes things just
trigger unnecessary comments from her that make me feel guilty for no reason.
We talk it through.
Cereal with Blueberries and Almond Milk. Breakfast Tea.
Sitting at the computer dealing with all these schedule
changes for Music Makers – it’s always Tuesdays when the things pile up at
once.
Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Butter and Jam. Greens. Cold Brew
Coffee.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers.
Off work a bit early. I shoot around the basketball at the
Lynnhaven courts. One of my students, Keegan, drops by and we play a few
rounds. He’s a good kid with a lot of fearlessness.
Back home. Ana cooked up dinner using some leftovers. Beans,
Cabbage, and Quinoa. Simple meals I love.
We watch an episode of Portlandia
together.
I stay holed up in my room finally getting the chance to
organize the photos from last week’s MMLIVE show.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Blueberries, and Almond Milk.
Breakfast Tea.
Watching High Score
(2020).
Running some errands – mostly spending my time at the
Kitchen Barn. I never thought to come here in the past for kitchen-related
things but I’m simply enamored with this place. The two ladies running it are
very helpful and give me some ideas on the most appropriate French press and
other things.
Leftover Egg Noodles with Kale and Carrots. Cold Coffee.
Catching up on business.
At the Lynnhaven basketball courts playing a few pickup
games of 3v3. It’s the exact kind of exercise I wanted to do all weekend.
Back home. Ana is taking the lead on dinner. I help with the
brown rice. Tofu with Brussel Sprouts, Onions, and Brown Rice. I show Ana the
first episode of High Score. It’s
really well paced and entertaining all the little tidbits of history on video
games.
Figuring out how to use this new Toddy cold brew coffee
thing.
Later on, at the studio continuing to log all the retail for
inventory.
Cereal with Blueberries and Almond Milk. Black Tea.
Teaching afternoon lessons at Music Makers.
Chores around the house.
Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Butter and Jam. Kale and Veggies.
Coffee.
Watching High Score
(2020).
Running errands with Ana.
Putting together this shower caddy thing. Unfortunately,
we’re still waiting on the contractors to come and finish the caulking on the
hallway bathroom. So everyone’s borrowing Ana’s shower for the time being.
Leftover Beans with Greens, Quinoa, and French Baguette.
At Music Makers doing some inventory while Ana practices
piano.
Ana and I continue our Friday tradition of brunch at
Commune.
Pancakes and Bacon. Coffee.
Picking up some coffee beans from Three Ships. Checking out
North End Bag Co. – ordered a new custom bag for myself.
Running some errands – picking up groceries at Whole Foods.
Taking care of chores and things around the house.
Napping.
Shooting some basketball at Lynnhaven Park. Tristan and Ana
meet up here for a while.
Back home. It’s a lot of camaraderie. Tristan, Ana, Erica,
Roland, and a friend of his, Kevin. We slow cooked beans in a crock pot but
they didn’t cook all the way yet so we wait. Putting it together in Tacos with
Corn on the Cob. Enjoying the deliberate pun-like humor of Tristan and Roland’s
tirades on mallwave music.
Later on, in Ana’s room. She massages my back. After
cleaning up a few things I end up sleeping in her bed, something I rarely do.
Making fire before we fall into dreamland.
The maintenance guy is still reconstructing our shower wall,
second day in a row.
Staying preoccupied with Music Makers business – scheduling
and planning.
Chores.
Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Butter and Jam. Spinach. Coffee.
Banana.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers – pretty busy Wednesday.
Back home. Cooking dinner for Ana and I. She got me mussels
to cook. I’ve never cooked them before. Making an Egg Noodle Pasta dish with
Mussels, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Cauliflower, and French Baguette.
Taking care of chores – laundry – dishes.
Pulling out an old typewriter I had stashed away in the
closet. Ana and I play around with it.
Waking up at 11:30 a.m. All morning Ana and I kept waking up
to a maintenance guy hammering in the hallway bathroom replacing the whole
shower wall, a longtime coming repair even though it’s inconvenient to sleep
through.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, and Almond Milk.
Breakfast Tea.
Catching up on business.
Running errands – at Target.
Scrambled Eggs. Sourdough Toast with Butter and Jam. Kale,
Onions, Mushrooms, and Avocado. Melon. Cold Coffee.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers.
Back home. Warming up leftovers: Chic Peas with Vegetables
and Quinoa.
Cereal with Strawberries and Almond Milk. Breakfast Tea.
Meeting with Vlad, one of our student’s Alexa’s dad, at
Houze of Champions over off London Bridge. I’m looking to start a more
structured approach to my workouts and have him train me. Even though I know I
can motivate myself sometimes I just need a schedule and a professional to lead
me in the right direction. We run a pretty intense workout even for a first
time. But I’m feeling good.
Melon. Scrambled Eggs. Sourdough Toast with Butter and Jam.
Spinach. Coffee.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers.
Off work kind of early. The rain has finally subsided and I
can shoot the basketball around.
After Ana gets home we decide to grab some dinner at Barrel
17.
Crab Cake Sandwich with Fries.
Then, walking over to Lolly’s for some Cookie Monster Ice
Cream. It’s a nice summer night as we walk through a side street – discovering
a few murals we’ve never seen in the arts district.
Back home. Ana and I relax on the couch and watch an episode
of Portlandia.
Waking up kind of early at 10:20 a.m. to pick up all the
music gear from the church with Ana. We had to do it before 11.
Enjoying breakfast together: Oatmeal with Cinnamon,
Strawberries, and Almond Milk. Cold Brew Coffee.
And then the fun starts! At Elevation 27 setting up the
stage for our big Music Makers LIVE show including two bands and an hour long
Broadway show. I’m running around the venue coordinating almost everything from
making sure gear on the stage is set up properly, getting the video camera
going, making sure Kay is all good at the front entrance. There’s some
confusion on purchasing tickets at the door. Because of pandemic times they
have some limitations on capacity.
So proud of all the MMLIVE bands I’ve been coaching
alongside Devon and Anne. I can really start to see how much each one is
growing in their musicianship skills. And I know my mom would be proud of this
show and get such a kick out of this Broadway thing.
After getting all the gear transported back to the studio I
meet up with Addy, Rebecca, Jordan, and Garrett at Las Palmas across the
street, that new Mexican restaurant that just opened up. Enjoying some
tableside Guac with Chips, drinks, and all kinds of good eats. We reassess what
we learned from the show and how we can make it better for next time.
...
Popping into Jordan’s place with the gang to meet his new
cat, Luna.
Back at the studio putting all the gear away and organizing.
And finally at home to relax.
Once Ana gets off work at midnight we share some Toasted
PB&J’s and chat about the show today. We get into a deeper discussion on
our relationship and how important it is to simply trust each other.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, and Almond Milk.
Breakfast Tea.
Today’s the final rehearsals for MMLIVE. Jordan and I set up
all the band stuff last night so we’re ready to roll. From 12 to 3 I rev up all
the performer’s energy and we run the sets. Devon’s here also helping keep
everything in line.
Soon after we get the Broadway group going for their dress
rehearsal. I’m all over the place helping keep things on the stage clear.
Slurping down some Watermelon and lunch from Panera.
We go all the way till 7 or so. We’re all drained!
Back home. Taking a nap.
Ana and I warm up leftovers. While sitting and enjoying our
meal we joke how these leftovers don’t look like leftovers: Vegetable Goulash
with Chic Peas, Kale, Carrots, Quinoa, and French Baguette.
Ana and I grab some brunch at Commune like we did last
Friday.
Cornmeal Waffles, Bacon, Sunny Side Up Egg, and Coffee.
Running errands – thrift store – Wal-Mart.
Taking care of chores and stuff at the house.
Watermelon.
Chillin’ with Ana in her bedroom. She puts on some groovy
music and we get silly with each other. Making fire.
Smoked Salmon. Kimchi, Lettuce, and Toast with Butter and
Jam. Breakfast Tea.
Watching The Way Back
(2020).
At Music Makers getting all the MMLIVE gear ready. Jordan
meets me here and helps transport everything to the church. We set up
everything for tomorrow’s final band rehearsals. It always takes some time to
make sure everything is right.
Back home. Ana baked us homemade Pizza with Cucumber Salad.
Very delicious.
Her and I take our boards out to the church parking lot near
our neighborhood.
Oatmeal with Cinnamon, Strawberries, and Almond Milk.
Breakfast Tea.
Chores.
Catching up on business.
Scrambled Eggs. Toast with Vegan Cream Cheese and Jam. Salt
n Vinegar Chips. Cold Brew Coffee.
Teaching lessons at Music Makers.
Ana cooked dinner tonight: A Moroccan style plate with Chic
Peas, Zucchini, Potatoes, Eggplant, Tomatoes, Quinoa, and French Baguette.
Later on at the storage unit with Josiah and Elliott
practicing Ladada tunes. I play a little drums to help continue learning his
guitar parts. Bobby’s taking extra precautions by quarantining himself cause of
the pandemic.
