a good day: friends, teachers and tranzac

From my photo archives. Me and my friend Ray. Ray took this photo by holding the camera out in front of us.

Yesterday was one of those extra-wonderful days, where every little thing falls into place just the way you want it to, when one good thing happens after another. I'm very glad, and I'm hoping it's only part of the payoff for all the negative karmastuff that's been going on before.

As I mentioned yesterday, SO good to be getting back into a normal writing schedule. Right now I'm working my way through my queries and submissions database, figuring out which queries can be sent out again, which articles can be submitted for reprint sales, etc.

Then I heard from David Smallwood, my teacher from Grade 8, my favourite teacher of all time. He was a teacher that had a huge influence on my life in so many big and little ways, especially encouraging my writing skills. He says still has a bunch of my old short stories, a fact which delights (that he kept them) and horrifies me (I've improved so much since then) at the same time. Not only was he a fantastic teacher, but he was also very much a kindred spirit. I am SO happy we're back in touch.

Also, Rand and Erin and I made plans for them to come visit this Saturday, which means I get to meet Erin before FKO! Allison's coming downtown to join us. Really looking forward to this weekend.

And we have a house! Ok, old news. But I still wake up every morning thinking happy housethoughts and counting down the days until we can move in.

Postcard from Lyanne, written with an Inkspot pen. "I'm continuing my trend (quest?) of finding the ugliest postcards in cities I visit and sending them to all my friends."

My already good day was capped off by a fantastic session at the Tranzac yesterday evening. I got to know several more people including:

Deirdre: amazingly talented flute player, seems to know all the tunes. I found out more session etiquette stuff from her, like the fact that while sheet music is okay at the Tranzac because it's a learning session, it's frowned upon at places like Dora Keogh. She let me try her flute a bit since I've been curious about the long black flutes I see at the sessions all the time. The holes are further apart than on my metal flute, and I fear that it would be a bit of strain for me right now because of tendinitis. 'Tis ok; I still have my whistle. :-)

Adam: first-timer! He's a conductor and vocalist in other music groups, but also plays a number of instruments including the concertina. He said that my Blatherings posts about being a newbie at the Tranzac helped give him the courage to give it a shot himself (yay!). We shared sheet music.

Heather: accordion player (I think it's an accordion) I've seen at pretty much every session, obviously very experienced. She had posted a message at TheSession.org in response to my session cartoon and Blatherings entry about the Tranzac, but I didn't connect the name with the person until she introduced herself. I'm looking forward to chatting with her a bit more at future sessions.

Last night we learned "Red-Haired Lass" and "Lord Inchiquin." Then before the free-for-all, we went around the circle, each person picking a tune. I chose "Apples in Winter", using sheet music despite the fact that I can play it from memory at home. Though I can play several tunes without music when just one of a group, I'm still too nervous to lead without music yet. Gradually getting better at it, though. At least my hands don't shake anymore!

I played "Apples" somewhat more slowly than normal, and my whistle was soon outnumbered by other instruments. The resulting chaos of some people speeding up, some trying to slow down, ended up in the song stumbling to a halt. I apologized, but Denis (the friendly banjo player I mentioned in early Tranzac posts) encouraged me to try again, and asked the other players to stick with my speed. And this time it worked, yay!

I'm also purposely putting down my whistle and just LISTENING sometimes, even when I know the tunes, instead of feeling compelled to play every time. I love LOVE the music and atmosphere in that room: the comaraderie, the laughter and quips passed back and forth between tunes, the encouragement and good humour. How I wish I could bottle it up and take it with me everywhere.

Tonight, I'm heading up to Richmond Hill to get together with Allison and Jodi to work on our Urban Tapestry DVD project.

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