More than a Year Later (Change is the Only Constant)

        5. Go on a Long Bike Ride. I did that, with my brother. I rode from La Grange to Austin as part of the MS 150. The "MS" is for multiple sclerosis, its a charity ride to raise money for research about the disease. "150" is for the distance from Houston to Austin, the planned route. Unfortunately, due to rain & subsequent flash flooding, day one of the ride (Houston to La Grange) was canceled. Day Two was beautiful. We rode thru state parks. I was the one & only single speed bike in the pack. & boy was it a pack, thousands of bicycle! It felt special to be part of such a large, mobile group, like a line on a map, moving. At every rest stop was a spectacular buffet of single serving drinks & power snacks. We were like a plague of grasshoppers ravishing the parks along the way. Arrival in downtown Austin was a heartfelt homecoming. Count it!
       18. Perform in a visually wild live band. Depending on my/yr ever-changing definition of "wild", I did this, in Anacortes, WA with my stellar pop group PMS Dark Feelings. We performed our first ever public song during What the Heck Fest. We were a stop on the Friendship Trail, a meandering jaunt thru Anacortes & out to the marina park dotted with musical acts. We all wore simple white night dresses. Eli & I sat in chairs & played guitars while Ashley & Lindsay cut our hair. We sang a song that was a pledge to support each other in what we choose to do. Lots of people sang along, pledging support this way & that. It felt great. Our stop on the Trail was at the old train depot so we played a tape of a train too.
      37. Have more pen pals. I did that. Now I have less again, but for a while I had more, a lot in fact. In fact, my amazing girlfriend Lindsay & I fell in love, you might say, thru letters. She lived here on Whidbey Island, WA & I lived in Austin, TX. We wrote a couple times a week for a few months.
In that time I also corresponded with a few other friends. Its great when yr in the habit of sending & receiving. The writing & folding diminished my internet updating accordingly. Its a year later now, autumn.
     41. Get a suit tailored to me? Got a suit tailored to me. I got fitted. I got fine tuned. I rented a tux for my best friend Chrisco's wedding. I wore it all night. I looked sharp. I returned the tux. Maybe someday I'll have a fitted suit for keeps, but hey, its a "to do" done. Also, Chris & Christine's Fort Worth wedding was bountiful & beautiful. I am honored to have been a groomsman.
     51. Have a radio program. Well I helped on a radio program. That counts. I was a DJ on "People Like Us" on KPWR FM Austin with my wild DJ friends Pinky Melon Man & Chicho Queso. The show continues on Wednesdays. This is a link. We played a vast variety of styles & we often jammed on air. People Will!
     56. Buy & store "forever stamps". I've bought & stored "forever stamps". I've stuck small books of these "good-for-always-or-until-USA-ends" stamps in books I plan on keeping. I don't even know which books! I'll be rich!
     62. Not once bite a nail or cuticle. I am crossing this one off the list, not b/c I never bit a nail or cuticle, but b/c its a cruddy goal. I bit a nail at some point. Who cares? It was a well-intended but mis-guided "to do". I bite 'em less than before the 1001 days began, sure.
      64. Play Tejano music. I played glimpses of Tejano music, in a short-lived Spanish language band in Austin with Mike & Tracie Jax & maybe a couple other folks. Only Mike had any clue how to make Tejano music. He had a few great songs written. We conducted practice in Spanish. I'm sure for brief moments it was some kind of Tejano music. Shoot, we are Tejanos after all.
     81. Pray. I pray. I'm still figuring out how exactly I speak to God. Prayer is one way. I pray sometimes.
     82. Write a corrido. This is sorta related to #64, but this one I definitely completed, & I have proof. A corrido is a sorta story song. Its a Mexican musical tradition. Riding in the canopied bed of Lindsay's truck, driving I-5 from the ferry to Olympia, I wrote & recorded a noisy corrido about the hiway.  If you wanna hear it, email me. Keep in mind, it was recorded in a truck speeding down a hiway, so the sound quality is perhaps a bit challenging to the listener.
      83. Write a song for somebody else to sing. I wrote "Just Cuz" for my girlfriend/bandmate/partner to sing in our group PMS Dark Feelings. We recorded it today & yesterday for our debut album. I tried to keep in mind Lindsay's range & style of singing. I enjoyed getting to choose her words, which was maybe a weird control-trip out, but also a fun musical exercise. And it sounds great!

   Well that's quite a few since last time I perused this list. I used to have a copy, big & long on strips of TyVek hanging on my wall. Now I live in the woods. Funny how life goes on & on. I'm not the least bit worried about running out of time. Time is all we got. Only time will tell.