Drifting And Thrifting

Saturday November 29th, 2008 - Spring Grove, IL

I’m still thinking pretty clearly but that could change at any minute. It’s holiday season and if I see the wrong holly berry on the wrong McDonald’s bag at the wrong time I’ll be in a deep dark ugly funk looking to shank all of Santa’s elves with a broken candy cane.

So far that hasn’t happened and I’ll count it as a positive. I’ve actually been pretty bullet proof about all the holiday stuff and it hasn’t penetrated my psyche at all. I’ve never had a problem with anyone else enjoying it if that’s what they like but for me having to see it all the time was the point of torture. Now I don’t really care. I have too much to think about.

I’m starting to slide back into my old habits a little bit and I’m not liking that at all. I’ve been wandering aimlessly all over the place the last couple of days and I just can’t do that and expect to make any real progress. I need to make a plan and stick to it but I’ve slipped into my old way of doing what I like when I like. It’s fun but not smart if I intend to grow.

Today I got up and felt like looking at junk so I went to the thrift stores in Waukegan. If I was paid minimum wage for all the hours I’ve spent in thrift stores I’d be able to buy the best stuff there is and not have to scour thrift shops. The problem is I like scouring them.

Just like with the car auction there’s something very satisfying about finding something in a thrift store for a buck that’s worth five or ten or twenty. That happens a lot but even if it didn’t I’d still enjoy buzzing through them. It’s the hunt. I love to search for treasures.

The problem as I get older is it really cuts into my time. For years on the road I had lots of time to kill every week so rather than drink or do drugs I hunted down trinkets in thrift stores all over the country. I found some decent stuff but nothing earth shattering. It’s just something to do and it keeps my mind sharp by testing my power of observation. I love it.

I’ve found hundreds of books and self help tape series, many of which I still have. If I’d read those books and listen to those tapes I might not be trolling thrift stores and focus my time on getting ahead in show business. Even though I like it I should stop chasing junk.

Time is limited and every day is a race to get my business up and running. After that I’ll focus on actually selling something. I guess I can get ideas at thrift stores but every single thing in one has been rejected and tossed aside by someone. Maybe I shouldn’t be there.

Where I should be is wherever creative people are creating. That’s what truly motivates me, not finding a Norman Vincent Peale book for a quarter. Sure I love those books but it won’t do me any good if I don’t read and implement the stuff they say. I need to DO it.

Tonight I had a gig at a pizza joint in Spring Grove, IL. It was exactly 11 miles from my house and that’s never a bad thing. I didn’t like the crowd very much but I did my time so I could get paid and was grateful for the chance to do it. Gigs like these keep me afloat so I can have an opportunity to chase a bigger dream. Thrift stores aren’t where the dream is.