Steve Ball Diary         home     related guitar craft diaries dgm diaries rep circle diaries		Monday March 12   Tuesday March 13  Wednesday March 14  Thursday March 15  Friday March 16  Saturday March 17  Sunday March 18      Read the archive	Monday March 19  Tuesday March 20  Wednesday March 21  Thursday March 22  Friday March 23  Saturday March 24  Sunday March 25
		Monday March 12 SGC rehearsal at Bob and Jaxie's reminds us of how much work we need to do to get back to where we were last fall. And a reminder of how much work we have done in the past two decades.  These gems need some polish, but they are still gems.   * * * Tuesday March 13 A blissful day in many ways.  Can't say much about what is cooking right now, but optimism has returned. * * * Wednesday March 14 Nice email from Gaucho brother MartinS today, checking in and catching up.  Need to respond, but not today.  (Later this week?) * * * ----- Original Message -----  From: "Tiktok" (TravisH) To: "Steve Ball"  Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2001 8:59 AM Subject: The Architecture of Rock Music "These places are completely rigid - the dynamic is just stuccoed into every surface of the room, into everything... the walls are angled and everything is laid out so that there's a smooth flow of people to the bar. It's like scientists map it out - a little room for people to consume in and then to get the fuck out of as quickly as possible. The economics are set up so that everybody gets fleeced, meanwhile the band is in this little picture frame with the speakers and everything..." he trails off. "With the breweries above us pulling our strings,"   --Effrim (guitar), Godspeed You Black Emperor!    * * * Later, dinner on Mercer Island with extended family.  A delightful evening after an excellent day.  Progress brewing. * * * Thursday March 15 Coffee and good conversations with TravisM this afternoon.  A reminder that struggles, musical and otherwise, occur universally in all groups and in all organic processes.  What may appear to be a smooth, clean, and shiny product from the outside may have been cast in an oven burning with intense heat. * * * Gemini Approach all free advice and exciting gossip with caution. Being too judgmental could make you look ridiculous. A ride in a taxi cab transports you to another world. Or it could just be that you are about to discover something quite exciting and mysterious about someone you know quite well. They may, in fact, bring out sides of you that you have lost touch with lately. So be glad that you have a friend who challenges you to evolve in all kinds of fun and wonderful ways. Perhaps you need to give yourself more credit. - Infospace * * * Leaving tomorrow for a weekend of rest, away from computers, phones, technology, and corporations.  The stress this year has taken a toll.   Time to rebuild and refocus before the next phase begins.  * * * Friday March 16 Vacation. * * * Saturday March 17 Vacation. * * * Sunday March 18 Vacation. * * * home Monday March 19 1:21am, technically, Tuesday.  Just 'home.'  I feel ill.  Sick to my stomach.  Nausea beyond belief.  Where is the rug?  Where is the floor?  Which way is up? * * * Tuesday March 20 - Saturday March 24 Ongoing stress.  Hence, the silence here. I am also very under the weather, so to speak.  Allergy season is here.  Really bad this year.  Should be fine in about two more weeks. * * * ----- Original Message -----  From: "Richard KW"  To: "sb"  Sent: Saturday, March 24, 2001 2:42 AM Subject: are you all right? Dear Steve, I just went to look at your diary (after a stressful session of final exams - remember those?) and found that your last entry, from ten days ago,describes you feeling very sick. Are you OK? Are you reading this from a bed with little buttons that let you raise your head and feet separately? If you don't reply (or post a new diary entry) i will have to pester your friends in Seattle, and thoroughly embarrass you. As if i could improve on your performance. I might think that you were just taking some time off - but i remember how you used to deal with stress before plays (in high school) - by getting sick. Sometimes that is how people take time off. You have a lot more stress these days. Also, i have been worried for awhile. Your diary evinces a lot of calm optimism and pleasure (relative to your situation), while occasionally hinting at internal storms and stresses. Sorry about the kremlinology of your diary. I didn't want to be a nervous nellie, bugging you with my vague notions. Sometimes i think of Fish as a kind of launching pad (think of the roof of the Fish house), with you as the (ballistic) missile... much love, richard Thanks Richard.   You are still full of wisdom.  Yes, on the stress.  (Fish was the band that Richard and I were in in 1979-1982ish.  It was a launching pad, in many ways.)     * * * Sunday March 25 Sixteenth anniversary of the first GC course.  A major event in Seattle with the core Seattle team.  On a related note: Woodland Park Zoo's 4-month-old female Asian elephant finally received her name during a live broadcast on Seattle's KING 5 TV Evening Magazine on Monday, March 26, 2001. "Hansa" (pronounced HUN-suh) which means "supreme happiness" in Thai, was chosen out of more than 16,000 entries to the Elephant Naming Sweepstakes. The winner was 7-year-old Madison Gordon from Redmond, Washington. Madison not only received the rare honor of naming the elephant, but also won the grand prize: a trip for two to Thailand and a "meet and greet" with the baby elephant. Felt some supreme happiness today.   Despite the surrounding stresses and uncertainty, I have much to be thankful for: health (not counting the allergies), great family and friends, and excellent resources and opportunities at my fingertips. * * * home