except for the pounding of my skull this morning, and the thoughts in it trying to get out. my alarm clock is quite verbose sometimes, and it wakes me up with so much information to spill that i can’t possibly go back to sleep. it is funny, the stupid shit that runs out my brain in the wee hours….

Resolutions.

no more lying. no more telling people that something is good when it isn’t. no more acting like you like something and being afraid to say “no” to production projects, christmas presents, songs, bands, salads, couches, or tv shows.

get more culture. take the time to go to some art exhibits. go see some “select” plays. weed out the bad movies and only waste my limited recreational time seeing really good movies with a plot, heart or brain. travel more WITHOUT having to work while doing it. europe is a good place to start.

start reading….. more….. i never was good at it and i have dyslexia when it comes to it, but even if it’s 2 pages forward, 3 pages back…. do it. too many great things, song ideas (and bad emo band names) have come from readings. oh, and Us, In Touch, and Star don’t count.

spend more time on my music this year.. not other people’s. i want to. it’s just hard to turn down the money sometimes. we are all guilty of it (those of us who have day jobs). i’m sure some people say i’m crazy for having all of this gear, a studio, and pseudo-capability at my disposal, and i use it only to make popular music with… that is partly true. there was a time in my life when i was a little guy with a 4-track recorder, 2 mics, and a couple of instruments in my bedroom (and no job). all i would do was write and record music. sure, it was terrible and shit, but at least i was doing it for myself. there were so many ideas pouring out of me that i couldn’t keep up. cut to now, and i have a sweet studio with lots of gear to make records on again, the drums are in the corner. there are mics on them. almost all of it starts right there. even though i am a terrible drummer, get back there and do it. press record. now. go.

talk to my parents more. every time i do this these days, i discover more and more about them that i never knew. they put me here. i should at least explore the family tree a bit.

and lastly, when my little boy says, “daddy” when i am leaving out the door, turn around and come back in… and never leave.