Today is the Big Day.
It's been a while since I've updated, and a lot has certainly happened. It always seems that the times when I should write are the exact moments where I can't find enough time or concentration to put my thoughts into words. I should probably work on that.
OK-- so I'll go through the big news---
2 months ago I noticed that Dar Williams was scheduled to play the Kimball Theatre in Williamsburg, VA on February 7, 2008. The Kimball is a four minute walk from my apartment in The Burg, and literally right across the street from The College of William & Mary. Not only was I so excited about the prospect of Dar coming here (which is a long story in and of itself-- one that I will discuss in a later post), but I had a strange thought-- how cool would it be if I could get The Cleftomaniacs (the a cappella group for which I'm the musical director) to be her opening act?
Over the last 2.5 months, I've made calls to Dar's booking agents, local agencies in and around Williamsburg, the Kimball, and finally got in touch with 92.3FM The Tide Radio-- the official sponsors of the show. I put in a formal request to their Programs Director about the Cleftos opening for Dar. I didn't hear back for quite some time, so about three weeks ago I called the Director to continue my inquiry. She actually got back to me rather quickly and said that the email I had sent got a bit lost in the shuffle, but that she loved the idea. Because of this, I sent her a few mp3s from our new CD, our website, and some brief biographical information. She loved what I sent her, got in touch with Dar's manager, and 2 weeks ago let me know that everyone had acquiesced to the Cleftos being the official opening act for Dar Williams on February 7, 2008.
I cannot describe in words the ecstatic feeling I have had the past two weeks because of this. Dar Williams is one of my favorite performers EVER. I have seen her in concert 7 times, met her 4 times, and not too sound too sappy but her music and spirit were one of my guiding lights during my teenage years-- she was incredibly inspirational and provided me with a lot of insight and hope when I didn't think there was much to be had. To think that now my a cappella group is opening for her-- that we will share the same stage-- that our paths will be together musically and professionally for a brief moment-- is absolutely incredible.
It's interesting for me to think about this, because in the past year I have fulfilled a lot of my major dreams that I have built over the past ten years. Beginning in high school, I started REALLY singing, and then had the opportunity to travel to Italy with my concert choir and sing in front of Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" in the Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. I became a voice for LGBT issues, students, and rights by being head of the Gay Straight Alliance at St. Andrew's, which as a young teenager I felt was one of the scariest things in the world (wow, actually being yourself! but still-- as a 17 year old at St. Andrew's, being out was possibly one of the hardest things I could imagine). Then this fall I (basically) took a good three weeks out of school to follow Tori Amos around the East Coast and Midwest on her American Doll Posse World Tour. She is my favorite singer/performer/musician in the world, and the experience of being "on tour" with her was transcendent. It was one of the most important experiences in my life, for so many reasons. I should probably write them down soon while they're still fresh in my mind....
It's just that I feel like I am finally in a place where I can be comfortable with owning both my strengths and weaknesses. I think the reason for this is that I'm beginning to make good choices that really help me build constructively. I am going to keep making missteps, but I really feel that I've reached a point of clarity for which I've never been privy before. I used to think that true happiness was an esoteric construct that dogmatic figures used in order to perpetuate a supposedly implicit power differential between "good" and "bad." I thought it was in idea rather than a potential state of being. And I am not saying that I've completely flipped these ideas, or that I've abandoned wholly my previous beliefs, but that I realize that I have been so fulfilled, ecstatic and blissfully happy in the past two weeks and I cannot deny that in a metaphysical emotional postulation.
In other news, the Indigo Girls cancelled/postponed their show in Richmond last night due to illness from the flu-- I swear the flu is taking out EVERYONE in the world right now. Classes are going very well, and I continually am excited by the prospect of reading more, learning more, and doing more with art history. I'm in a really good place with a boy on campus right now-- after basically vowing, or rather conceding, to not date on campus, I've sort of abandoned that whole thing. I feel very good about how it's going right now-- I haven't felt this giddy in a long while. I've had a really good time with my friends recently-- I think my decision to spend more time on campus and less time by myself has really paid off. Oh, and I think I've checked out about 11 books on Cindy Sherman and her photography from the past 30 years. Yeah....
Also, Joan and I skipped some of our classes yesterday and went to the Jamestown Beach. It was 75 degrees, sunny, and stunningly gorgeous. Somehow we got the nerve, or stupidity, to go swimming in the water, and I have to tell you I have rarely felt water THAT COLD. It was so cold that in the split second you take to say to yourself that the water WILL get warmer if you just stay in longer you immediately realize that NO, this water will NOT get any warmer and that you now cannot feel your feet. It was so brilliantly invigorating. I think that might be the earliest (February) that I've swam in the Mid-Atlantic. The whole experience was so incredibly freeing, healthy, and beautiful. Sometimes a little irreverence in the face of academia is absolutely necessary.
So, things are good. Really good. Now it's time to get ready for this show tonight.....!!!
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