THE GEOGRAM WEEKLY: Lots of Work!!!.....Post Views...20,925

AKA....Why does one climb a mountain? Run a marathon? Endure a Tough Mudder? Write songs and give a concert?
Cause one has the potential and wants to conquer? Wants to accomplish that potential? One THINKS she has the potential? One wants to prove she has the potential? One wants to share a God given talent? One thrives on the challenge of a challenge? One needs to create? To express?
Maybe ALL the above reasons?

Sunday I performed an hour's worth of original music. With some talking in between and some snacks it was about 90 minutes.
Public minutes. Private minutes to prepare need to be measured in HOURS....lots and lots of hours and weeks, even months. This is probably true about anything worthwhile.
I played and sang to an audience of 7, very appreciative 7. There were about 10-15 others who said they would come, but with flu, family matters, heavy rain, work they couldn't attend. I even imagined several others coming just because they wanted to hear my music.
I might sound like I am complaining. I am not....just pondering:-) How much effort is too much and how much effort is normal?
I gave a program in early June of 2014. After that a few people said they missed it or didn't know that it was me. The past several months there has been one gentleman in the park who often expressed regret that he didn't attend that concert. His wife did and told him how much she enjoyed it. (He had family concerns at the time.)
Late summer I decided to give another performance. Sunday, Nov. 8, seemed like a good date. I figured the holiday activities would not be in full mode yet. I'd have time to practice and even finish a fun song dedicated to Thanksgiving Dinner. All that came to be.
I like parties so thought snacks and a surprise dessert of pumpkin pie should be included. I imagined all large group of us mingling, enjoying the food and chatting about various topics. The 8 of us did that.
Lots of work goes into prep. Awhile back someone had posted a seemingly simple recipe for pumpkin bars using Pillsbury crescent sheets. Now, I have heard at times that it is not a good idea to try something new right before an event. Hmmm.....I found a coupon for Pillsbury crescent rolls a few weeks ago. Good deal. Bought two.
Only on Friday did I realize that crescent rolls and crescent sheets are two different food items. While shopping I looked for the sheets, but this particular store did not have them. So bought a box of pie dough "just in case". After opening the crescent rolls I observed that indeed the dough was perforated. After attempts to get them to stick together failed I squished them all together into a ball and used the rolling pen on it. So Sorry, Mr. or Mrs. Pillsbury. No offense to little Doughboy. Got it all spread out in the smaller pan.... Another "oops"... never used parchment paper before. 'Tis rather awkward to fit into a pan.

Yum.....unbaked pumpkin pie bars...

Used pie dough for the larger pan. (Didn't use "used pie dough"....just sounds that way.)

This all happened about 9 Saturday evening....

While the pumpkin dessert was baking I decided to run off some programs for the program. A seemingly non-complicated thing to do. But what does one do when one's office software plays tricks and one doesn't know how to untrick it? Or the printer spits out an empty paper, a printed paper, an empty paper, etc? Or the black ink cartridge runs dry and the printed forms have a small picture and no printing? Stuff like that at 10PM.

Other prep work is more techy. I recalled that for the last performance I had devised an electronic accompaniment for a song titled Monkey Tail Tree. Now I couldn't remember where it was or how I did it. I think I had recorded a phone video of it as it played back on the clavinova. Or recorded it on a little sound devise. Where is that? So at the store on Friday evening I found the only devise they had...another sound recorder designed for "note taking".
Saturday morning I got busy learning how to make the thing function and then recorded the playback of the song from the clavinova. Then tried running it through the computer for more volume and hopefully better sound quality. After 3 hours I came up with something that would work, but not the best.
Shortly afterwards I was scrolling through "files" looking for a list of songs when I came upon a "scan" titled Monkey Tail Tree. Upon clicking it there played the very soundtrack I so painfully tried to produce. Ugh and yea. All that needless time consuming work. Yea...a better quality soundtrack already programmed into the computer. (My geek sons would be so proud and so annoyed with me.)
So "the show must go on". And that it did. After hours of practice and prep my little audience enjoyed the program and we had our party and pumpkin pie. The one gentleman and his wife went home happy. Two people helped me haul everything back home and I sat in my house that evening exhausted and satisfied.
Yet not entirely settled. Now comes the "evaluation". How much effort is too much and how much effort is normal? Where do I go from here? Give it all up? One of my songs says not to do that....to keep on keepin on. I discovered moments of "blankness", forgetting parts, while I was playing. Yet I really enjoyed sharing the music with folks.
One lady who leads a Red Hats chapter here told me that maybe she'll hire me for a "fairy picnic" they have every August. Lots of fun music to compose for that...I think.
For now, to "put this puppy to bed", I will resolve to continue daily practice, enjoy composing new pieces as they "download" in my head, be grateful for the fun experience of playing for an audience, be fulfilled that a project has been completed, turn my energies to the coming holidays. Woot! Woot!
One bummer.....so involved with the experience that I didn't get even ONE picture.....

'Cause Pictures are Enjoyable.....

Vancouver on a sunny, autumn day....