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 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ So, there seems to be a theme this month (for me) involving artists and their fundraising campaigns. Hey - what better way for me to show my support to indie musicians (since I am one) than to contribute to their campaigns, right? Also, the band, Common Shiner, had an "All You Can Drink" fundraiser last night. Since drinking is no longer "my scene" AND I was in the celebratory mood in a quiet, intimate way for my birthday past, I thought that this gift was more appropriate today. Before I got there, however... I woke up in the same fashion as I do every day that I am scheduled to go into the hotel for work. I gotta tell you - even with the drama that I created early Saturday afternoon, I really did not want to "face the music" and go back to reality. Of course, as the days go on, it is getting easier to get back into the grind, per se. Since I went to bed at 6AM the night before, I woke up at 1:30PM today. I got my cup of coffee, had my bowl of cereal, vitamin, did my Morning Pages, grabbed my freshly pressed white-collared shirt from the closet and headed over to 7-Eleven to get my daily items. I KNEW that a taxi cab would be in order for today since I got the late start with Morning Pages. I have to say - I am getting much better at forgiving myself for taxi rides in as long as I do my Morning Pages. My 3 pages of Daily Meditation goes a LONG way - EVEN when I had rocky starts like I did yesterday. I got to work, changed into the rest of my suit, and started my shift. All in all, there were more arrivals/check-ins than what I'm used to this time of year (about 35 arrivals this afternoon/evening.) If nothing else, this is a perfect warm-up as to what to expect once March hits. Our peak season for the hotel business is anytime from March through October or November (after Thanksgiving.) Therefore, our dead season is about to end. We have A LOT of conferences coming up. So, better now to acclimate ourselves to a heavier, steady flow of guests and turnovers. With that being said, nothing major about the day. Just "another day at the office." While working, I was hardly on any social media sites because of the guest flow and the fact that my colleague, Selena, wanted to talk (I found someone who has met my match in talking. Karma? I don't know. However, I really didn't and don't mind. It does help time to fly faster than not talking does....) So, I had to have some notion as to what today's gift was going to be. The aforementioned band, Common Shiner, had their fundraiser last Saturday night. The night prior, one of the lead vocalists/musicians, Morgan, came to my gig at Let Them Eat Chocolate last Friday night. I was so touched that he showed up. He stayed for the entire gig as well. He let me know about the fundraiser on Saturday. I let him know right away that I couldn't make any promises for Saturday night. However, I was Really glad that he showed up and that I wanted to support the cause. "It's another Kickstarter page, right?" I ask. "No, actually, we're going through Indie aGoGo," Morgan told me. "Oh, yeah. I did see that," I chuckled at my error. "So, I do want to support your cause. How many more days do you have on the fundraising site?" He leans his ear my way since my buddy, Jeff Brown, was playing while we were talking, "two days." "Oh. I'd better get on it." I laughed. "No worries. Yeah, we already made our goal per the Indie site. We set a smaller goal for the site - about $3000. We need $5000. However, we are hoping to raise the other $2K on Saturday." "Gotcha," I said. "Well, I will give through the website AND I'll promote the Hell out of it once I do so." "I'd appreciate that, man. Thanks." "No, thank you!" I replied. "I'm really glad you came out tonight." "Oh, yeah. I don't know HOW you guys can write 10 songs in a month!" "Well, it's just a kick in the a@@, you know? Does help with the songwriting craft altogether to have that push." "Oh, yeah. But, still. Great stuff. I'm impressed." "Thank you, sir." With the above conversation in my mind, I went to the Common Shiner FB page to find their link. At the time of giving (in the same fashion of the Cobalt & The Hired Guns page,) I saw that there was only 4 hours left to give to the campaign before the fundraising page closed. Therefore, I made haste in giving my gift in order to insure that it would count. I made my contribution. I spread the word via FB and Twitter and considered it a done deal. It was easy - and once again, felt good. I also tried to write this blog post at work. However, I didn't even make it through the first paragraph. We ended up checking everybody into the hotel before Selena and I closed out our shift. Drama-free - no problems: Just the way I like it. Truly. I left the hotel and walked to the train. I tried to call Beth Ann. The phone went straight to voice mail. I left her a message (both voice and text) letting her know that I was en route. "Either she's on the phone or the phone is dead," I told myself. I would find out soon enough once I made my trip to CVS Pharmacy before entering my front door. (I bought a 2-Liter bottle of Caffeine Free Diet Coke along with a box of the new Kellogg's Krave cereal to surprise Beth Ann. She mentioned, in passing, that she really wanted to try it the other day but was waiting for a coupon to buy it on sale.) As I entered my front door, I saw no Beth Ann on the futon. The lights were on. The TV was on full blast with Jimmy Kimmel LIVE playing on the television. I knew that Beth Ann was watching the Oscars by the looks of it. I was only able to see 30 minutes of it on my break. (I must say, as an aside, I was SO glad that Octavia Spencer won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her work in "The Help." I actually did a silent 'YES!' for her when she won the Oscar. It was well-deserved. Such a graceful speech as well amongst her nervousness. But, I digress.) I walk into the bedroom. Beth Ann was passed out on the bed with both of our bears in her arms. I tried to wake her up gently. No stirring from her. I went back into the living room, took off my jacket and got myself situated before waking her up again to make sure that she took her medicine. "I'm sorry..." she says very sleepily. "I...." "No no no. Don't be sorry...." I reply. "No. I really...tried...to keep my eyes open during the Oscars. I was...so sleepy...." "It's ok. It's ok. Do you have a show tomorrow?" "mmmmmNo. Just class." "Ok. So you don't need any alarms set?" "No. I should get up around 12:30....1...?" "Well, then, you'll get enough sleep then. I'm glad you're letting your body catch up." I held her a bit to help her fall back to sleep after helping her with her medication. I got up and came to this laptop to write this blog. After this, I'll listen to some time, surf the Internet for a bit, write another song to contribute to the FAWM challenge (3 "and a half" to go. Thank GOD I've got one musical idea already laid down on GarageBand. However, I think I'll leave that one for the last contribution. I have other ideas in my back pocket via my iPhone.) ;) Until next time... Take care of yourself...and let the gifts take care of one another. :)