I posted this entry on my profile at the www.29gifts.org website. If you wanna friend me or join me on what will prove to be an incredible journey, please check it out at: www.29gifts.org/profile/davidkav ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I started this blog post this morning at work. I am now finishing this blog at home. Back in the day, I would've beaten myself up and told myself that I HAVE to finish writing this in ONE sitting. However, as time rolls on, I am always learning, more and more, the art and the importance of editing...and saving drafts (isn't that amazing?) :) This day started Very Early for me: 5:30 AM. I got about 3.5 hours of sleep the night before. I can never sleep well the night before an early shift at the hotel. Somewhere in the back of my cranium (or at the front, since I heard that's where anxiety stems from in a recent news story regarding crucial moments in decision-making/Eli Manning's last moments in this past Superbowl,) I always think, "ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodi'mgonnasleepinIknowit!" I'm SURE that I learned this (or, rather, the anxiety aspect has been exacerbated from being with Beth Ann. She has her moments - as do I, for the record. ;) Regardless, I start the morning off right with the usual routine of Morning Pages. I get ready for work. I arrive early. Selena asked if I was going to Dunkin Donuts. "Umm, no. 7-Eleven. Why?" "'Cause I was gonna ask you to buy me an iced coffee. I was going to get you something, too." "Ok. Write down what you want and I'll get it." "Ok. I want a medium iced coffee with cream and sugar. And hash browns 'cause they're AWESOME!" "Ok. I'll be back." With the "you fly, I buy" temptation working its magic, I thought to myself, "you know what? Hashbrowns ARE awesome. And, you know what else?" (yes, I do talk to myself quite a bit. And, yes, I do answer myself as well.) ;) "You know what else? I haven't had their sausage croissant in a LONG time! Thanks, Selena!" I laugh to myself. (Hey, I've been doing pretty good the last few days with my breakfasts. What's one day? As long as I get "back on the horse" tomorrow.) :) So, I purchase our morning commodities and came back to the hotel. Started the shift at 7AM. I punched through with caffeine, caffeine, caffeine. So, in other words, nothing new. :) My GM and the director of sales had to go to court this morning to deal with trash fines. The city of Chicago is Very Strict (not to mention - it's hurting, badly, for money) with its policies. I think that we already knew, deep down, that the outcome would not be good. Sure enough, when they came back, the looks told the story of the news: We, as a hotel, got fined. (As the day would progress, we as a team have taken precautions to make sure that this does NOT happen again. It seems that everyone is learning an important lesson about progress, no?) :/ When I saw the look on my manager's face, I wasn't sure as to how to approach her. I waited until she got back to the front desk to ask in a low voice, "How are you? You ok?" "No. We got fined." "Oh. I'm sorry." Our other manager seemed to be in a low-key mood as well. With this demeanor, I had thought that there is/was no way that our lunch with my mentor and her daughter would happen. Mix this with the fatigue from the sleep deprivation, this was proving to be a difficult morning. It's true. Even the first hour was slooooooooooooooooooooow. Rachel mentioned this as well. "This morning is dragging ass." "Thank you!" I bellowed. My voice tends to be even louder when I'm tired. Not that it needs to be any louder than it already is. "I thought it was just me." At around 10:30, along with working on this blog, I was thinking of all of the tasks that I had yet to tackle on my never ending list. I knew that I wouldn't be able to write a song at that time (although I do have the next project already in mind.) I was going through my emails. I remembered that I had yet to start my own Kickstarter page. I put in a proposal a couple of weeks ago to fund a project to finish a 3-song EP that I recorded at the Legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, TN back in 2010. The idea? This will re-launch the Writing The Rails tour series (www.writingtherailstour.com.) All proceeds from the sales of this CD will go to benefit St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital (www.stjude.org.) With this mission in mind, the owner and recording engineer of Sun Studios was kind enough to let us record a 2-hour session for free. So, the recording is done. The songs are mixed. We just need them mastered, designed and produced to its final product. That will cost money. Anyway, I got the letter from Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com) stating that my proposal has been accepted. Even though there is a deadline to raise the money once you launch the campaign, there is no deadline to make the initial launch itself. In fact, they even encourage that you take as much time as you need to take. They suggest videos, reward systems, the whole shebang: Everything to ensure the success of your project. THIS helps me greatly at this point of my journey. Realistically, it may not be until next month that I launch my Writing The Rails/Sun Studio project. I want this done right. I am also using my past experiences with my last two albums as in what Not to do. What a concept, right? :) "KICKSTARTER!" I screamed to myself. "I have less than one hour to contribute to Cobalt & The Hired Guns (http://www.cobaltandthehiredguns.com) new album project if I want to do this. It's now or never!" Cobalt & The Hired Guns is a rock band that I know of personally. They are a local band that I have jammed with on occasion. It has been quite a while since I've played with them and/or seen them live. Anyone can tell ya: If you see them play, their joy is contagious. They are one of the few original bands left that I know of personally, including myself, that thoroughly enjoys playing live music. They had sent out an email, Tweets, Facebook messages stating their mission on Kickstarter for funding their full-length debut album. Being a singer/songwriter, I had always wanted to contribute to bands and their causes. However, I have found myself with a list of excuses as to why I couldn't, "I forgot.... I don't have the money.... I'll get to it later, I promise...." Today, however, I knew that I had to grab this window before it's too late. I already had this in mind as one of my gifts a couple of days ago when I saw their "Last 48 hours in our campaign" email. However, I have to admit to my own fear (and possible b.s.) I know that we are supposed to give gifts from our heart with gratitude. We're not supposed to give out of obligation. I am worried that I gave today's gift out of hopes that people will contribute to my page once I launch it. When I opened their Kickstarter page, however, I saw that they had already succeeded in reaching their initial fundraising goal. They merely raised their goals, twice, to see if they can raise $8,000 for the project. So, in essence, they had already won the race. If I was contributing, I would be backing a winning horse no matter what. (For those of you who have never worked with Kickstarter, it's simple: You either meet every penny of your goal by the set deadline or, if you miss a cent, you get NONE of it and none of the backers are responsible for paying their share. In other words, EVERY penny of the goal has to be met by the deadline. In this case, Cobalt & The Hired Guns were already winners!) "Well, I give to them today. In fact, I don't need to give much at all," I told myself. "I'll contribute a little bit. It would be nice to have my name on their website for thanks. I'll purchase the CD/EP later on, if not listen to it on Spotify." So, I made my contribution and was done with it (all of this with 15 minutes left to spare in their campaign.) If nothing else, both then and in hindsight, I gave myself the gift of slack today. There may be some mixed intentions in my gift. However, no one would pick up on my $5 contribution and think, "that David! He's doing this for his own gain! That cheapskate!" No. The band would be a step closer in finishing their first album - and that's more than ok. Also, I would be (and I am) doing and giving this gift to keep my deep-seeded belief and mission alive: To support indie music at all costs since indie music is TRULY the heart and soul of music in my humble opinion. You can probably already guess that I'm not a huge fan of pop music. I already get my daily share from the CD that plays constantly in the lobby of our hotel. Yeah. I'm thankful of that reminder that I am not in the pop field on a daily basis (this is after I get past the resentments - but I'm in therapy to fix this. So, all is well.) ;) After contributing to the cause, I do my share to spread the word - both on Facebook and on Twitter, stating: "Just contributed to Cobalt & the Hired Guns Kickstarter page for their new album! Less than 1 hour to go before they reach their goa (and they're Very Close!) :) http://kck.st/x9i1j0" (I figured I'd leave the spelling error in the last quote for integrity's sake. It was a quick cut-and-paste deal while working.) At 10 minutes to noon, I see one of the most adorable girls to come through the revolving door. Danielle Always has a smile on her face! As tired, fatigued and over-worked as I was, it took everything within me to not want to burst from across the front desk, to ignore the current guest I was checking in early and her caravan of 99 questions, and to give Dani a HUGE hug. I hear Joanna state, "do you see David Kav? Yeah, he's working. He can't come over right now. He will when he's done, ok?" Man, it was hard to ignore them. However, I waved and smiled at them. I was "on the clock." (If it's any consolation, I literally just took a moment while writing this blog, got out of my chair and twirled around/ran around for a bit in pent-up excitement in reliving this very moment.) So, knowing that I had a job to do, I finished with the guest. As soon as the guest was on her way to the elevator, I stepped around from the desk. I hear Joanna say, "ok. Now, you can give David Kav a hug." (You have to understand: I'm known as 'David Kav' or 'Camel Man' to Dani, the latter because of my song contribution "Alice the Camel" on the EP "Eats Paste" from Toy Block Music - the very organization in which Joanna is the president: www.toyblockmusic.com) She runs up to me. I swoop up the 3.5 year old ball of sunshine in my arms, twirl her around, and give her the biggest hug. In doing so, laughter spills from the very sweetheart herself. I introduce Rachel to Joanna and to Dani while we show Dani where "David Kav" works behind the desk. Dani shows off her rag doll that she got from the Art Institute. It is based off of a painting inspired by Degas (that's as much as I know.) Rachel mentions the glittery jacket that Dani is wearing. "If you're real nice," I tell Dani, "I'll bet Rachel will show you her Huge glittery pen collection." Seriously, this girl has a HUGE stack of glittery pens. It's kinda funny. We wait a bit for the GM to come downstairs. She gives Dani a hug (the GM is also Dani's godmother.) Remember, as I told Rachel, "Joanna is the reason that I've got a job here." Small world, small family. They go off to lunch. Since I only have a 30 minute window for lunch, I tell them that I'll take mine at 12:30pm. I give Joanna my order so that it may be ready close to the time that I arrive. I leave my post at 12:30. I get to the table. My seat is next to my manager. Upon taking my seat, I state, "now, These are the type of business lunches I'd love to have more often." A chuckle, by all, was had. It was a great meal. Nat (GM) asked me what I am doing for my upcoming birthday. "For my Birthday? Nothing," I half-joke. "I have a show the night before. I was hoping to make my birthday celebration as part of the show afterwards." (However, as time has passed today - and depending upon the turn-out for next week's show on Friday - I may change that since I just found out that Beth Ann is working next Friday. I am open for changes and flexibility. There's victory in that.) ;) After that, we talk a bit about Joanna's deal, we talk a bit about Nat's deal/life situations right now - which is nice to do since, as you may remember from past posts, I don't always have the luxury in doing since professionalism has to come to play in order to ensure success for everyone at hand. At this time, I don't offer what's going on with me for a couple of reasons: 1) I am seated next to Dani to play with her (upon her request) after lunch is done and with the few minutes that I have left on my break. 2) I hear the words from both Joanna, "I'm worried about you. You're worried about me." I write these words with the utmost sincerity (and, if you've been reading my blogs, you know this to be true: I am doing more than fine. I have been taking the steps necessary to take my life into my own hands. With this being stated, I gave the gift of time to the two of them since their schedules are More than packed. Nat picked up the bill (which I thanked her for again and again) and we left. As we were walking back to the hotel, Dani had the running fits. So, I "had" to comply. I figure this would give Joanna and Nat more time to catch up as well. I take Dani in my arms and I run down Michigan Avenue in broad daylight. She's laughing. My heart's bursting. I play the game of, "Ok. We're gonna wait here until Mommy sees us. Then, we run again." She answers me with laughter. Mommy looks up in her walk back in conversation. We run off again. This lasts for a good minute or two until we reach the front door of the hotel. At that point, I tell Dani, "ok. So, I have to put on my work face again." I make the gesture and do so. I hug Dani and back to work I go. For the record, I was 10 minutes late. Upon walking in, I mouth to Rachel, "sorry." When I get back to the desk, I come back to the Kickstarter page for Cobalt & The Hired Guns. When I left, they had a little less than $100 to reach their goal in 50ish minutes. Upon my return, they succeeded. Along with my Facebook post, the guitarist and band leader, Tom, left me this comment: "yup. and now we're over. thanks to you. wow. this is amazing." Awesome. All around - an awesome day. I leave my work post at 3pm. I take my time to clean up after myself in the break room and to gather up my suit for dry cleaning since I will be off for the next two days for the Classical Blast shows (by the grace of God and the Universe.) I leave work around 3:30pm beyond exhausted. I try to call Beth Ann to let her know that I'm on my way home. No answer. "She may be in class," I tell myself. To tell the truth, I'm still a bit unsure as to what her schedule is at this time. I walk in the door, put down my coat and belongings, and start talking to myself - out loud. Something told me to check the bedroom. I do. I find Beth Ann in the bed with her new BIG teddy bear. A bit shocked but pleased at the same time, I say "hello" very gently. "Hi! Don't you have class?" She rolls over. "No," she says softly. "I had my show today. I just took a nap when I got home at 1:30pm." The clock read 4:00pm when I walked into the bedroom. "Oh. Ok. How'd it go?" "Good. Well, I was gonna do the same thing you're doing for a bit. Mind if I join you?" She shakes her head with her usual smile. I get myself situated and come back to the bed. She's sleeping in my spot (which, by the way, she's notorious for doing. She LOVES to sleep in my spot when I'm not there) with a big grin on her face. "Umm," I reply. "Can I...get into my spot?" She smiles at me, "You'll have to pay the toll." She purses her lips. "That I can do," I state. I kiss her. However, she states, "Can I - have you sleep in my spot? Just in case..." "Sure." This is where I ask you all for your help. Beth Ann fears (and I agree) that she may have UTI (Urinary Tract Infection.) Before taking a nap, I have her call her doctor to see if they can see her. They stated that since it was the end of the day, they'll probably get back to her tomorrow with a prescription. In the meantime, she is staying away from caffeine since that can aggravate the issue. Please - keep Beth Ann in your thoughts and prayers at this time. We can use the prayers and the positive energy. Thanks. At this time, I'm about to wrap up this blog, listen to a tune or two on Spotify, and spend the rest of the evening with Beth Ann. Hopefully, we can see the final two episodes of "Everybody Loves Raymond" this evening. :O It's been a bit difficult with our schedules and all. Regardless, I am still overflowing with the love and joy from this day. Whatever you may do when you read this, I wish you a heartfelt and joy-filled day. As always, thank you for your love and support. :)